Search & Rescue
by Voyfan2
Summary: Kathryn and her son are kidnapped during a routine diplomatic mission. Tom and their family join the search for them. But what they find will rock everything they know about their lives. (Chapters 13-14 are up. STORY COMPLETE)
1. Chapter 1

_Anything Trek-related belongs to CBS at the moment. All the original characters belong to me. This is for entertainment purposes only, and I definitely don't make any money from it._

_xxx_

_AN: The time: Several decades past "Endgame," so we'll see Tom and Kate at a very different point in their life. (And __see them through the eyes of their __family.__) _

_Be aware, this contains depictions of violence (though not graphic) and references to substance abuse. _

xxx

"Captain, ship registering about 100 clicks ahead. Sensors confirm it is Delta Flyer III."

John Brendal ran his hand over his face. "Brendal to Admiral Riker. Please report to the bridge."

"We've found the Delta Flyer, sir," Brendal reported as Will Riker arrived.

"Hail them," was all Riker said.

A young man's face appeared on the screen. Intense blue eyes, golden-red hair.

"Lieutenant Paris, taking the Admiral's ship out for a spin?"

"Not exactly, sir," Jacob Paris replied.

"Good morning, Will," came a familiar, older voice. Tom Paris sat down at the helm next to his son. "We must be important if they sent you after us."

"Tom, what in the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Let's see: my wife and son were abducted during what was supposed to be a routine diplomatic mission. Did anyone think I would just sit on my hands?"

"You know we're looking for Kathryn and Chase. We're blanketing the sector."

"And we're going to help," Tom replied.

Riker looked beyond Tom at two young women in Starfleet uniforms. "Are you trying to ruin _all _your children's careers? You do realize that Miral and Liz could be court-martialed along with you and Jake. I supposed you have Ben involved, too?"

Another young man with red-gold hair, this one in an Air Reserve duty uniform, stepped into view and waved.

"Oh for God's sake," Riker exclaimed. "Why don't you come on board and we'll talk about this?"

Tom shook his head. "You're going to have to arrest all of us. Kathryn _will_ be beyond pissed. And she outranks both of us. Look, I'm pretty sure they've been taken off Culvera. But there's not a lot of warp-capable worlds out here, so we're going to start by scanning areas that are a day or two away on impulse.

"We're planning on doing the same," Riker said. "Right now, I'm going to have a chat with the Culveran ministers. We suspect they know more than they're telling."

"Isn't that always the case? Well, we'll start scanning while you rattle the saber. Let us know if you find anything, and we'll do the same. Paris out."

xxx

Kathryn shifted against the bulkhead of the old shuttle, keenly aware that a rather rough-looking Bajoran had a compression rifle trained on her and Chase.

She looked over at her son. The bruise on his jaw was turning a dark shade of purple.

"How's the jaw?" she asked quietly.

"I don't think it's broken, Admiral," he said. He knew the drill: don't give your captors anything to use against you. "Are you all right?"

"_No mission is routine,"_ one of her Command School professors once said. And she was living proof of that. Again.

Culvera was seeking admission into the Federation. She was there to discuss their technology and what they could offer, or want from the Federation. Chase was doing some research for Ambassador Fujiea, so she brought him along — more for her benefit than the ambassador's.

They had just walked out of a restaurant when they were accosted by three men holding phasers. They stunned the Federation Security escort before he could move. She managed to fight one off, but apparently, she was getting old: the second one grabbed her.

They dragged her to a waiting hovercar, but not before Chase ran at them, likely intending to tackle her and knock her from their grasp. Unfortunately, he was sidelined with a punch to the jaw. He fell on top of her, and they threw both of them into the vehicle.

She overheard the three of them whispering: one of them wanted to kill Chase. She tensed.

"No," one of them said. "We were told no one was to be harmed. It might spoil our chances. We'll decide what to do with him later."

They were herded, hands bound and communicators and personal possessions stripped away, into a shuttle that didn't look at all spaceworthy.

"So, where are you taking us?" Kathryn demanded.

"Consider yourself our guest, Admiral," the Bajoran said.

"That would be Admiral Janeway ... Kathryn Janeway," she replied.

The Bajoran couldn't hide his shock. Guess he knew the name.

"What do you want with us?" she pressed.

"You'll know soon enough," the man replied quietly. "We have no interest in harming you, unless we don't get what we want."

The leader came back to join the Bajoran. "It's Janeway," the Bajoran said.

The man, a human, raised an eyebrow, then pulled a small knife from his pocket as both Kathryn and Chase held their breaths.

He knelt in front of Kathryn and motioned for her to raise her hands so he could cut the bonds.

"Apologies, Admiral," he said, "we usually don't treat our friends this way." She nodded over at Chase, and the man obliged, cutting his bonds, too.

He stood up. "Feel free to take a seat on the bench ... use the head." He looked over at Chase. "I think we have a dermal regenerator. I will warn you not to try anything rash; firing a rifle in here would blow us all to Sto-vo-kor, but if we have to ..."

"All right," Kathryn replied, rubbing her wrist. "To which friend do I owe my thanks?"

"You'll find out soon enough," he replied as he went back to the helm.

Chase and his mother shared a look, and Kathryn turned a thoughtful gaze back to the helm. He sighed. There were portions of his mother's life that she wouldn't, or couldn't talk about. He had a feeling he was going to see one of those hidden bits.


	2. Family History

Chase awoke with a start.

"It's all right," Kathryn whispered. "We're landing."

They both blinked as they were led off the shuttle into the sunshine, toward what looked to be a functioning, if ramshackle settlement. They noted that one of their kidnappers was talking to a young woman at the door of a small building that was stained orange with rust.

The young woman ushered them inside. "I am told you are friends, and that I am to give you anything you need." She nodded toward the table. "We have water; food will be along soon."

She was about his age, Chase noted. Dark hair and eyes, olive complexion … and forehead ridges that signaled Klingon ancestry.

Chase noted that his mother was staring intently at the young woman; she'd picked up something.

"Is your mother of Klingon heritage?" she asked conversationally.

"My heritage is none of your business," the young woman replied. Chase raised an eyebrow; he had an odd feeling about his mother's question.

"Sekaya!" called the man who cut their bonds. "They're on their way." Chase's eyes widened at the name.

"Thank you Berdi," she called back. "Our leader is on his way here," she said formally.

"Fine, but I'd really like to meet your parents," Kathryn replied.

Chase looked over at his mother after Sekaya left. "Mom, you don't think ..."

"Oh yes, I do." was the reply.

XXX

How long had it been? Nearly 29 years since that message from Chakotay popped up on her vidscreen at work.

"_Kathryn, I'm sorry. I have to do this. I promise I'll be back as soon as I can."_

"_God damn," she muttered. The argument had been going on for a month __—__ since they'd learned that sleeper cells from the Obsidian Order were trying to recruit anyone with a grudge against the Federation. A resurrected Maquis was mobilizing and Chakotay wanted to join. They'd just gotten together, and she was angry about his determination to go._

_She went home, to what was supposed to be their home, and sat with a drink in hand. After a while, a realization came to her, and she practically ran out of the house._

_She could hear Miral crying before she got to the door. Amazingly, Tom heard the buzzer and appeared with the screaming baby._

"_Everything all right?" she asked as she stepped in._

"_She's hungry. I was delayed in picking her up at daycare. Could you take her while I get __a__ bottle?" he asked as he handed her over._

_She managed to quiet the girl, and Tom returned shortly with __the__ bottle, which she attacked with gusto._

"_Actually, I was hoping to talk to B'Elanna," she began. Tom just looked disgusted._

"_If you find her, let me know. She and Chakotay took off to go fight Cardassians. Or rather, Chakotay talked her into fighting Cardassians. Though he probably didn't have to talk too hard. I was wondering how you were taking it."_

"_Oh, good Lord," Kathryn breathed. "Tell you what," she said, moving toward the replicator. "You finish feeding Miral. Dinner __is__ on me." _

xxx

_No matter the loss, it seems, life goes on. She stopped by in the evenings to check on them, usually staying for dinner. Miral certainly enjoyed her visits; she'd coo and laugh the moment she saw her._

_Life got a bit easier for Tom, too. Owen pulled some strings and got him a post at the Academy's Flight School. The job suited him, and they spent their dinners laughing and trading stories about their days. _

_Until __one__ night, two months later, when Kathryn appeared, ashen-faced, at his door._

"_What's happened?" he asked, alarmed._

_She swallowed. "I'm pregnant."_

"_Oh God," he said. He led her to the couch, sat her down and pulled her into his arms. She started to cry … all he could do was hold her._

"_If I find that bastard, I'm going to shoot him," Tom vowed. "Stand in line," Kathryn managed. _

"_Do you want the baby?" he asked gently._

_She was quiet for a moment. "I do. It's my child, too. And it may be the only shot I get at this. I just didn't expect to do it alone."_

_He lifted her chin. "You aren't alone. You've been here for me and Miral; I'll be here for you and the baby." He paused. "By the way, boy or girl?"_

"_A girl."_

_Tom grinned. "Guess I'd better hang on to Miral's clothes. We're going to need them."_

_XXX_

Kathryn braced herself as the door opened, but she wasn't the least bit surprised to see Chakotay walk in, followed by B'Elanna and Sekaya. She almost didn't recognize them; weathered faces, steel-gray hair … age had caught up with all of them.

"Well, hello you two. I see the Maquis look is still popular."

"Oh, Kahless … I didn't believe it," B'Elanna swore.

"What, didn't you realize which admiral you'd grabbed?" Chase groaned inwardly. Mom was in full sarcasm mode, meaning she was about two steps from livid.

Sekaya opened her mouth to speak but closed it after getting a sharp look from B'Elanna.

"B'Elanna, I take it that I've met your daughter," Kathryn said quietly. "I take it he's her father?" she continued, nodding toward Chakotay. B'Elanna just nodded.

"Kathryn ..." Chakotay began.

She ignored him. "Sekaya, I don't know what your parents have told you, but I need to update them on family history. I hope I don't upset you."

"Sekaya, I think I know what she's going to tell them. You'd better sit down," Chase noted. Kathryn merely raised an eyebrow. "Cheeky," she murmured.

Kathryn's eyes shifted to B'Elanna. "Sekaya, nearly 29 years ago, your folks went off to join the new Maquis, which was fighting Cardassian sleeper cells after the Dominion War.

"Problem is, your mother was married at the time, to Lt. Commander Tom Paris of Starfleet. And by the way, it's _Admiral_ Paris now. She left him and their 6-month-old daughter, Miral."

"I know about him and Miral," Sekaya said. Meanwhile, B'Elanna had hold of a chair and was putting some serious dents in it.

"I'm glad to hear that, but the story's not over. Your father was my first officer aboard Voyager … I assume you've been told about Voyager. We fell in love, not that I could do anything about it then. But we made up for lost time when we finally got home.

" At least _I_ thought we were making up for lost time. About three months in, he decided to go fight Cardassians. Two months after he left, I discovered that I was pregnant. So, you have another sister through your father. Her name is Elizabeth. She's 28 now."

Everyone's mouth dropped open at that, Chase noticed.

Chakotay appeared overwhelmed. "Spirits … Kathryn, I had no idea …" Sekaya just gave her father a searching look. Apparently, Chakotay hadn't been as forthcoming as B'Elanna.

B'Elanna had something else on her mind; she was warily appraising Chase. "So, you in the Navy uniform … with that red hair, I suspect you belong to the Admiral. But why do I think your last name is Paris?"

"He does look a lot like Tom, doesn't he?" Kathryn said, smiling affectionately at her son. "Got some of the attitude, too.

"To finish the story, Tom and I helped each other pick up the pieces and eventually got married. Along the way, we added three boys to the family. This is our middle son. Formally, it's Lieutenant Chase Paris, attache with the Federation Diplomatic Corps. I get to borrow him for the occasional mission."

She leaned back and looked at them. "Well, now that we're caught up, want to tell me why we're your guests?"

"We're fighting for our home," Chakotay said. The look on B'Elanna's face showed something else altogether.

"This was a Maquis base," she explained. "We were on the move for nearly a year before we got here. Bad timing. A month after we arrived, the Cardassians hit. Destroyed a lot of the compound, and worse, either damaged or destroyed all of our shuttles. We had no way off the planet."

"So we decided to make our home here," Chakotay said with a slight edge to his voice. "We built a thriving settlement. Then, three years ago, Culvera established a colony on this planet … about five clicks from here. It was all right at first, but slowly they began to move closer. Then they started to build on our fields."

Kathryn raised an eyebrow in response. "Thriving" was not the word she would use to describe this place. From the looks of things, they'd had a very hard life, indeed.

Chakotay paid her no mind. "B'Elanna repaired a couple of the short-range shuttles, and we went to appeal to the Culveran government. We were told we had no claim on the land, but we were welcome to move to the other side of the planet," he said bitterly. "At that point, we decided to fight back."

"How did that work out?" Kathryn asked.

He shrugged. "We were Maquis, remember. We used a variety of tactics … managed to slow them down, force them off our fields."

"Unfortunately," B'Elanna added, "there was a confrontation. Several people were killed on both sides. One of them was Sekaya's father-in-law."

Chase swallowed. "I'm so sorry," Kathryn said. "But what does this have to do with us?"

"Two years ago, we learned that Culvera became warp-capable, and we recently learned that it was seeking to join the Federation," Chakotay said. "We decided that kidnapping a Federation envoy would get their attention … embarrass them enough to leave us alone. We had no idea it would be you, but it might work out. You have influence, and you understand our struggle."

B'Elanna's answering look was one of disgust. Apparently, this was not decided by a vote.

"What I don't understand," Kathryn said, "is why you just didn't take your shuttles over to Culvera once it was warp-capable, and get passage back to Federation space."

Chakotay looked at her like she was daft. "This is our home. We put our sweat and our blood into it. We just want to be left in peace. There's nothing in the Federation for us." Behind him, B'Elanna closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Your sister, your oldest daughter, and Miral would disagree."

It seemed to have no effect. "I'll show you the list of our demands from the government. Then you and I are going to broadcast a message." He looked over at B'Elanna. "Will you make sure they get something to eat?"

"Of course," she said defensively.

After Chakotay left, B'Elanna crossed her arms and looked at them. "Is Miral all right?"

"She's fine," Kathryn assured her. "She went into Starfleet. Just made Lieutenant Commander, Corps of Engineers. She is every bit as talented as you are."

B'Elanna blinked back tears. "Tom is an _admiral_?"

"Owen was overjoyed," Kathryn cracked. "He taught at the Flight School for 20 years. He got the bars with an assignment to revamp the instructional materials division. He's usually running several holoprojects for the Academy."

"Far beyond Captain Proton ..." B'Elanna said with a sad smile, then cleared her throat. "We'll get you something to eat. At least it's better than Neelix's cooking."

Kathryn just smiled. "If you can get one or both of our pocket vids I could show you some images."

"I'll see what I can do," she answered.

"So let me get this straight," Chase whispered after B'Elanna left. "My sisters share a sister?"

"Right," Kathryn said. "I know it sounds odd."

"But Jake and Ben and I aren't ..."

"No, no shared biology there. But for us, family has never been dependent on biology."

He shook his head. "I can't imagine what Mir and Liz will think about this. And what's Dad is going to think?"

"I don't know, Chase," Kathryn sighed. "I'm not even sure what _I_ think about this."


	3. Good Luck to All of Us

Tom ran his hand over his face and leaned back.

"You OK, Dad?" Ben asked as he brought another round of coffee.

"Yeah, we're just looking for a needle in a haystack." He glanced over at Liz. "I take it you haven't found anything."

Liz shook her head. "Some life signs, but not human."

"Yeah," Tom breathed. "This is the perfect system to hid an insurgent base. A half-dozen small planets, each with a few moons, and each surrounded by an asteroid belt."

"You know," Miral said, "The Culverans know damn well who grabbed Mom and Chase. They just aren't telling."

Everyone chuckled. "I agree," Tom said. "So let's hope that Will and the Federation Council rattle them enough to start talking."

XXX

The night was going to be chilly; the building had a small makeshift stove, so they lit a fire, hoping that they wouldn't be smoked out.

The door unlocked, and B'Elanna came in, holding a small boy by the hand. Sekaya and a young man followed, both carrying boxes of food.

"Thought you might like company with dinner," B'Elanna said. "This," she said nodding toward the young man, "is Marcus Coyne, my son-in-law. And this," she said, nodding at the boy, "is my grandson, Regan."

The boy had a lighter skin tone than his mother, with a shock of dark hair and the faint outline of forehead ridges. This could be what Miral's children would look like, Kathryn realized. The little fellow was a bit shy, but warmed up as Kathryn and Chase talked to him.

"I found your pocket vids," B'Elanna said as she placed them on the table. "I disabled the homing devices."

"I would expect nothing less," Kathryn said pleasantly.

As they ate, Kathryn noted that Marcus was watching them intently.

"It was your father who was killed in the confrontation?" Kathryn asked gently.

He nodded, running a hand through his unruly dark hair. "Told him not to go out there, but he wouldn't listen. They shot him down … like he was any threat to them," he said bitterly.

"Is your mother ...?"

He shook his head, and she could see the moisture in his blue eyes. "Sickness got her. I was 12."

"I'm sorry," she said gently.

"I can't figure that you know how I feel," he said, and she could feel his frustration and anger.

"I don't pretend to know how you feel," she said. "But I know how I felt when I lost my father and other people who I loved. From that standpoint, I can empathize."

He just nodded and went back to his meal. 

After dinner, they both scrolled through their vids to find images. Kathryn handed hers to Sekaya. "That's Miral and Liz. It was taken in their grandfather's office when Miral got her recent promotion."

"Oh, they're pretty! What are they like?" Sekaya exclaimed. Marcus looked over her shoulder at the images, smiling at his wife's delight. B'Elanna, for her part, was furiously blinking back tears.

"Miral got your mom's engineering genes. She also gets right to the point like your mother. Liz is quieter, like your father. But she got my interest in science."

She leaned in and flipped the image. "Here's Miral with your grandfather, John Torres."

B'Elanna swallowed hard. "Is he …?"

"No, I'm sorry. John died five years ago. Shortly after Liz graduated from the Academy," Kathryn said gently. "But your stepmother's still alive; she'll be thrilled to hear about you." B'Elanna just closed her eyes and nodded. "You know, your dad never gave up hope that he'd see you again," Kathryn added.

Chase handed B'Elanna his vid. "Here's one of Mir and her boyfriend," he said to lighten the mood. "Boyfriend?" B'Elanna asked with a wry smile. "Nice looking fellow."

"Devon," Kathryn said, "Lt. Commander Devon Marhkan. Another engineer. They met at the Academy, but didn't get together until a couple of years ago. They say it's serious, but they're seldom in the same place."

"Admiral, you mentioned Papa's sister, who I was named for. Papa's told me stories, but he didn't know if she was still alive."

"She is very much with us. In fact, I talked to her before I left," Kathryn said as she flipped through the vid. "Here she is with Liz and Jacob, Chase's older brother."

Sekaya smiled broadly "She and Papa look alike." Kathryn just smiled. "She's going to be delighted to hear about you and Regan."

"Kaya, Regan's out cold," Marcus interrupted. The little guy had curled up on the bench and was fast asleep, his head on his father's lap.

"Why don't you two take him back?" B'Elanna suggested. "I'll take the dishes in a bit."

After Sekaya and Marcus left, Kathryn turned to B'Elanna.

"I get the impression you don't support Chakotay in this little kidnapping."

"I don't. But he's past the point of listening to me." Kathryn gave her a sympathetic look and nodded.

"I told you about the attack. We had to figure out how to survive; there was some food, but we had to scrounge for the rest. Marcus' dad, Gil, and I put together some rudimentary farming equipment.

"Culveran and other traders would stop by. I managed to barter for shuttle parts; took a few years, but Gil and I got both the small shuttles running on impulse. That helped with trading. Sekaya and Marcus spent their childhoods helping us with shuttle repair and maintenance."

"Why didn't you leave then?" Chase asked.

"Then? I had two five-seat shuttles for 50 people, neither with working warp drives. We could have gone to Culvera, but they didn't want us, though a few folks went anyway. None of the other worlds around here are warp-capable, so this was not exactly a stop on Starfleet's patrol routes."

She shook her head. "The other problem was ... is ... Chakotay. He's changed. It's like this is his kingdom, and he's been listening to Berdi and his cohorts … they're the ones that grabbed you. They're the ones who waged war against the Culveran settlers and got Gil killed."

She shook her head. "He says he's being guided by vision quests. But he zones out at times, talks to people who aren't there. I don't live with him, so I don't know what goes on when he's alone.

"I suspect that's Berdi's doing. Marcus and I are pretty sure he has a little crop of Berylian plants on the other side of the planet."

Kathryn and Chase traded a look. Berylian, known as "Beryl Peril," was a potent drug that could be smoked or ingested when dried.

"Berdi and his friends take a shuttle every few weeks. They come back with traces of the stuff stuck in the ship. I think he goes out to tend the crops, and meet with whoever is buying it."

"Do you think this is the real reason they don't want the settlers around?" Chase asked.

"I'm sure of it. But they've managed to tell a good story."

"Does Chakotay know … or do you think he's part of this?" Kathryn asked.

B'Elanna shook her head. "I don't think so; he's not real good at lying. Kaya sees more of him than I do, and she hasn't found any evidence.

"But I wouldn't put it past Berdi to lace his food with drugs. That would certainly explain some of his behavior. So as a word of warning, don't eat or drink anything unless it comes from me or my kids."

Kathryn was becoming alarmed. "Anyone else share your suspicions?"

"Besides Marcus and Kaya? Probably, but nobody wants to confront Berdi. He's dangerous; made him a good Maquis, but I steered clear of him then. We're somewhat protected because he needs Chakotay as a figurehead. But I'm not about to cross him. And we don't know how many people he's recruited."

The door opened, and Marcus slipped in. He raised an eyebrow, and B'Elanna motioned for him to sit.

"Marcus wants to get off this rock as badly as I do. But Chakotay is dead set against Kaya and Regan leaving. He wants them as a little dynasty. If we tried to take them, I suspect he'd send Berdi after us.

"Now that Culvera is warp-capable, we've been able to barter for parts to fix the larger shuttle's warp drive. Marcus and I have been working on it in secret … it's ready to go, though we don't dare test it."

"Having warp drive would get us out of Chakotay's reach and at least close to Federation space," Marcus said. "At that point, B'Elanna says we could contact someone to get us to Earth, or somewhere."

B'Elanna picked up the thread. "Having you here helps. No doubt Starfleet has ships out here looking for you," she said to Kathryn's chuckle. "We just have to find one of them. You get home; we get out."

"Waiting for Starfleet not an option?" Chase asked.

"I'm afraid for your safety if Starfleet mounts a rescue mission," B'Elanna said. "I doubt Chakotay would kill you, but Berdi certainly would."

"Well, I guess we're in," Kathryn said.

"All right," B'Elanna said firmly. "We'll make sure the shuttle is ready; we may have to go on a moment's notice, so ..."

"I think we're more than ready," Kathryn answered.

B'Elanna left, but Marcus remained seated.

"Is is true, what they say about the Federation? That everyone has basic credits for food and shelter. That they can see a doctor if they're sick?"

"All true if you live on a Federation world," Kathryn said. "The rest is what we call 'social currency.' Your 'wealth' in credits depends on your profession and what it adds to society. But the basics give you the freedom to work at whatever you want."

"Believe me, admirals have more social credits than lowly lieutenants," Chase quipped.

"You have to work your way up, lowly lieutenant," Kathryn quipped back.

Marcus nodded thoughtfully. "B'Elanna says we can trust you. That she'd followed you to hell and back and would do it again."

"There were many times that B'Elanna _pulled_ us out of hell," Kathryn said softly. "I'll do anything I can to repay that. She's Miral's biological mother and Sekaya is my daughters' sister, so that makes you all family."

"All right, then," Marcus said, offering her his hand, which she shook. "Good luck to all of us."


	4. Cold Introduction

"At last," Tom thought, "a break."

Will's visit to the Culverans and the terse message from the Federation Council produced results. Turns out Culvera had been dealing with issues since it established a colony on Culvera Minor. Another band of settlers had objected to the intrusion; a series of confrontations had left people dead on both sides.

The real shocker: The settlers' leader — Chakotay.

Trouble was, Culvera Minor was on the other side of the planetary system. They'd been looking in the wrong haystack.

"Titan to Delta Flyer II." Tom opened the com link. "Delta Flyer here."

"Tom," Will Riker's voice came over the comm. "The Culverans sent a message relayed to them on a low-band frequency from Culvera Minor. I think you all will want to see this."

"Acknowledged," Tom replied as he nodded at Miral.

To everyone's relief, Kathryn appeared onscreen. "This is Admiral Kathryn Janeway, Federation Diplomatic Corps. My attache, Federation Navy Lieutenant Chase Paris, and I are being held by a group of former Maquis. This group has a list of demands for the Culveran government. Their leader wishes to convey these demands."

A man with a very distinctive tattoo stepped next to Kathryn as Tom swallowed. "Dad," Liz asked softly, "Is that ...?"

"Yeah, honey, it is." There was no more he could say. Behind him, Miral took a deep breath. Ben stepped up behind Liz and placed his hands on her shoulders.

Chakotay went on with his demands. "You have 24 hours. If our demands are not met, we are prepared to kill both the admiral and her attache." He finished by laying the business end of a phaser against Kathryn's temple. In the background, they could hear Chase yell, "Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Kathryn, for her part, looked annoyed.

A volley of curses erupted in the Delta Flyer. Liz was staring at the now-blank screen, her hands curled into fists. Ben was squeezing her shoulders: that had to hurt.

"OK, let's concentrate on the good news," Tom ordered. "Your mom and Chase are alive. We know what planet they're on, but let's see if we can help Titan pinpoint the location. I'll talk to Will and devise a plan." He looked at his children in turn. "We have to move. Remember your training ... that's what your mom would do for you."

Miral found her voice. "Aye, sir. Liz, going to need some mapping help."

A bit later, Tom stopped back by Miral's station. "You all right?" Miral nodded. "I'm more concerned about Liz," she said.

"You know," Tom said quietly, "there's a good chance your mother is alive, too."

Miral looked him square in the eye. "I just saw my mother on the vid," she said with a small smile. "But it did occur to me that Liz isn't the only one who will meet a bio-parent."

XXX

After dinner, Miral found Liz sitting in one of the aft bays; a favorite for its views. She handed her sister a glass.

"The real stuff, eh?"

Miral shrugged as she sat. "Caged it from Dad. Figured you needed it. And figured," she continued, raising her glass, "that I might need one sooner or later."

"Yeah," Liz said. "I was thinking about you. Old conversations."

"Yeah," Miral agreed. "We decided our bio-parents ran off and did something noble … well, noble but stupid … and got themselves killed. And that was that. Now it turns out that perhaps _they didn't want _to come home."

"Well, Chakotay doesn't." Liz shook her head. "First time I see him, he's threatening to shoot Mom and Chase if the Culverans won't let him stay on their rock." She took a sip of her drink. "Bastard."

"I suppose we give him a bit of a pass since he didn't know about you. But B'Elanna sure as hell knew about me and left anyway." Miral took another sip. "Dad told me once that things were pretty rocky between them at the time. She told him she needed to sort things out." She snorted. "Nothing like shooting at people to focus your mind … and make you forget about your family."

"Maybe they should stay on that rock," Liz said. "The war's been over for more than 30 years. There are Cardassians in Starfleet, for God's sake. They may not be able to adapt."

"I suspect they'll be adapting to jail," Miral said. "You don't kidnap Starfleet admirals and Fed envoys and get away with it. They'll be sitting in Titan's brig soon enough. I just hope they don't hurt Mom or Chase, or _I_ might consider doing something stupid … like going after them."

"Stand in line," Liz quipped. They were quiet for a moment. "Do you want to meet her?" she asked. "I mean not from the trigger side of a compression rifle ..."

Miral chuckled. "Maybe. She owes me the courtesy of an explanation. You want to meet him?"

"After that vid, I'm not sure. Though he owes me an explanation, too."

Miral lifted her glass for a toast. "To explanations."

Liz clinked her glass. "Let's hope they're good enough to make us believe them."

XXX

The night chill was setting in, and Chase pulled his jacket tighter as he watched B'Elanna work on a shuttle.

One of the settlers happened by. She gave them a dirty look. "Should he be out here?"

"He's Navy. Shuttles aren't exactly his specialty," B'Elanna growled.

"Actually," Chase said quietly after the man left, "I hold a Class 2 pilot's certification."

"Of course you do; you're Tom Paris' son," she muttered.

"True; he had us in the sims as soon as we could sit up."

B'Elanna just smiled. "Is Owen still around?"

"He and Grandma both. He just retired, in fact."

"How did you join the Navy without him shooting you?"

Chase laughed. "I think he wanted to. He gave up when my younger brother joined the Air Reserve to fly hover copters.

"I'm the odd duck," he said reflectively. "I like history, political stuff. I was in high school when Mom was called to the Diplomatic Corps. She'd take me along sometimes, and I got interested in interplanetary relations.

"I realized that I'd need a uniform to get into the Corps, but I didn't want the academies. I went to Northwestern University near Chicago … the Navy has an officer training program there. After graduation, I had a couple of posts, then made the cut for my current job."

He looked out at the settlement. "Sorry, I suppose I seem a bit entitled," he mused.

"Well, you're not flaunting it," B'Elanna said off-handedly. "But for most of us, what you have is beyond comprehension. That's why I want my kids on a Federation world. They're young enough to make a better life for themselves. As for Regan, anything is possible. I just have to get them out."

XXX

Chakotay slipped into the room; Kathryn just glared at him.

"Yes, I know. You're angry." She'd cursed him roundly for putting that phaser to her neck.

"Yes, Captain, I am," she said. "You do realize you're going to stand court-martial."

"I'm aware, Kathryn. But if I can secure our home, then it is worth a jail term," he said quietly.

He picked up her pocket vid. "Sekaya tells me she saw images of Elizabeth and my sister. May I?"

Kathryn took the vid and pulled up an image. "Here's Sekaya," she said. "She's in Brussels these days, working with the Federation Refugee Council. We see her every couple of months. She sees Chase more often since he's in the sector."

He nodded and blinked back tears. "She looks so much like our mother," he said softly, then looked up at her. "She knows Elizabeth, then?"

"Of course. I was angry with you, but I wasn't going to deny Liz half of her heritage. And she was all Sekaya had left, or so we thought. Bless her, she declared herself aunt to all my kids."

She took the vid and pulled up another image. "Here's Liz and Miral."

Chakotay gave her the full-dimpled smile. "She's beautiful. She looks a lot like you. I see they both are in Starfleet."

"Miral's in the Corps of Engineers; no surprise there. Liz is the science officer I intended to be. She's working with some high-level astrophysics research teams right now. But I don't think she'll make a career of Starfleet."

"Oh?"

"She's working on her doctorate. Once she gets it, I suspect she'll be recruited by a civilian research facility. Her boyfriend, Jon, is a researcher for Daystrom, so that's an added incentive.

"Personality-wise, she's quiet, a bit contemplative, but she has a quick wit and the knack for telling a good story. She hasn't beaten me at pool yet, but she's damn close."

He shook his head. "Kathryn, I'm truly sorry I wasn't there for you … both of you. You've done a wonderful job … you have every reason to be proud of Elizabeth Janeway."

"Paris," she corrected. "Elizabeth Janeway Paris to be precise."

He looked momentarily confused. "He adopted her?"

"Yes. I had your parental rights terminated on grounds of abandonment. Tom adopted her after we married."

xxx

_She was exhausted from the delivery, but managed to rally as the doctor placed the squalling baby … her daughter … on her chest._

_Tom was beaming. "She's beautiful," he whispered as he gently stroked the baby's dark downy hair. "You do good work," he added as he kissed her forehead. _

"_We need to weigh her," the nurse said apologetically. As Tom gathered the infant in his arms, she started to cry again. "It's all right, Lizzie," he whispered into her ear. "Daddy's got you."_

_xxx_

Chakotay's face darkened. "Why would you allow that?"

"Because _you_ had disappeared. And believe me, we looked for you," she spat. "Tom was in the delivery room. He was there when Liz skinned her knees, started school, won top prize at the science fairs, and graduated from the Academy. He gave her his name so that she wouldn't be the 'different' one. _He_ is her father.

"If you'd shown up, I wouldn't have denied you the right to know her, and she does know who you are. But I would have fought you on custody. As it turned out, my fears were unfounded. Liz is an adult, so knowing you or not is her choice. But _you're_ going to have to explain yourself to her."

Chakotay made no reply. He put down the vid and walked out.


	5. We're on Fire Back Here'

"So the Culverans are willing to talk to us?" Berdi asked, keeping his voice low so the other settlers didn't hear.

Chakotay nodded. "One drawback: They want our delegation to meet them on Culver3."

"Sounds like we need to take some insurance. We'll pack up the Admiral."

Chakotay shook his head. "Take the Lieutenant. The Admiral stays here for now."

Berdi raised an eyebrow. "All right. What do you want us to do if we run into trouble?"

"Whatever you have to do."

Berdi looked at him for a long moment. "You sure about that?"

"Very," Chakotay said firmly.

xxx

Berdi liked making a grand entrance, Kathryn thought darkly. He and his cohort, Akent, had slammed through the door, startling them: This wasn't a social call.

"Need something?" she asked dryly. Her unease turned to anger as Akent grabbed Chase and held him while Berdi bound his hands.

"The Lieutenant is coming with us to talk to the Culverans," Berdi said evenly. "If the Culverans agree to our terms, he'll come back safe and sound."

"It would make more sense to take me," Kathryn growled as she stepped closer. If she only had some sort of weapon nearby …

Berdi stepped into her path. "I've been told to leave you here," he growled back.

Kathryn looked at Chase. "Love you," he mouthed. She nodded, and briefly touched her hand to her chest.

Akent pulled Chase out the door. Berdi followed, and she could hear the door lock click. Another bad sign: No one had bothered to lock that door since the first evening.

xxx

"I was afraid of this," B'Elanna muttered as she watched Berdi and Akent head for the building. "Got that phaser?" she asked Marcus.

"Yep," he replied quietly and bent down to his son. "Reg, go get Mom. Tell her we're starting up the big shuttle, but we need her help right now. Got it?"

The little boy nodded, and Marcus gave him a pat on the back. "Good, now run!"

Marcus headed for the big shuttle as B'Elanna slipped to the back of the building. Now, to wait.

xxx

Sekaya poked her head in the shuttle door. "You're actually going to start this thing?" she asked her husband, who was sitting in the pilot's seat. "Where's Mom?"

"She'll be right back," Marcus said as nonchalantly as he could. "I just started the pre-ignition … could you check the scanning console?"

She shrugged and climbed aboard, Regan following. Marcus motioned him over. "Good job, buddy," he said, ruffling his son's dark hair. "Now, sit down over there, and stay there, no matter what," he whispered, laying a finger on his lips.

xxx

When Berdi and Akent left the building, half dragging Chase along, B'Elanna managed to open the back door … startling Kathryn, who was pounding on the front door handle with a chair leg.

"Let's go," she hissed.

Kathryn grabbed the pocket vids and joined her. "Chase …. "

"I know," B'Elanna replied as they crept toward the two small shuttles. "Don't worry. We disabled the shuttles."

xxx

From his seat, Marcus smiled at the sound of a shuttle that wouldn't start.

"God damn it! B'Elanna! Marcus!" Berdi bellowed.

Sekaya raised her head from the console and frowned. "I'll talk to him," Marcus said quietly. He stepped out and walked toward the small shuttles, making sure to keep some distance between them.

"What's the matter?"

"The damn shuttle won't start," Berdi yelled.

Marcus shrugged as he palmed the phaser in his jacket pocket. "Well, no. We pulled the ignition coils to clean them. Use the other one if you're in such a damn hurry."

"Bring him," Berdi yelled back into the shuttle, then stomped toward the other.

B'Elanna and Kathryn had crouched behind the shuttle. They waited until Chase was shoved down the ramp, then B'Elanna fired a shot that caught Akent in the head. He went down … and as Berdi spun, bringing up his phaser, Marcus caught him with a single shot to the body.

"Go!" B'Elanna hissed as they ran toward the big shuttle. Sekaya, who'd been crouched near the shuttle door since the first shot, was nearly bowled over when Marcus shoved Chase into the craft, followed by her mother and the Admiral.

"Admiral, can you fly?" Marcus yelled as he started the engines.

"Certainly," she replied as she jumped into the co-pilot's seat.

"What the hell is going on?" Sekaya demanded as the craft began liftoff. "Shut that door before you fall out!" B'Elanna ordered.

She did as she was told, then turned to her mother. "We're leaving?" she asked in disbelief.

"We are," B'Elanna said softly. "We're going to hail a Federation ship and get out of here."

"What about Papa? Shouldn't we get him out, too?"

"Look," B'Elanna said. "You know how he is. We need to get these two out; they're in danger. Actually, we're _all_ in danger. We don't have much time before they figure out how we disabled the small shuttles. Now, please … I need you at the other console."

"By the way," Kathryn murmured to Marcus. "Were your phasers on stun?"

Marcus nodded. "Not that they didn't need killing; we just didn't want it on our consciences."

xxx

Chakotay, alerted by the commotion, got to the site just in time to see the big shuttle heading off. He pulled Berdi to his feet, ignoring Akent, who was still unconscious.

"What the hell just happened?" he demanded.

Berdi shook his head to clear it. "B'Elanna and Marcus pulled a fast one. They must have disabled the shuttles. They probably grabbed the Lieutenant and the Admiral."

Chakotay spun and called to one of the men. "Jerrol; see if the Admiral is still here!"

"We can get one of the shuttles working," another man called.

Jerrol returned, breathless. "Back door's open … she's gone."

"Damn," Chakotay muttered. "All right," he began … then a thought occurred to him. "Where's Sekaya and Regan?" he called.

"I saw them walking over here before this all happened," a woman called from the crowd that had gathered. Chakotay slammed his fist against a shuttle. "All right," he growled. "Mul, get that shuttle running; you and Jerrol go after them. See if you can force them down … I don't want my daughter or grandson harmed."

"It doesn't matter," Berdi said. "They've likely contacted Starfleet; we've lost our leverage."

"I know," Chakotay said. "We'd better get ready for a fight."

Berdi walked over to Akent, who was now sitting up and holding his head.

"You need to contact our partner," he said quietly. "Tell him the next shipment will be our last: We need to shut down. And remind him of his promise to take us out of here."

Akent nodded painfully. "What about the loose ends?"

"I'll take care of it," Berdi growled.

xxx

"My God," Chase exclaimed as he looked out the viewport, "what a rock pile."

"Yeah, the asteroid fields are great for hiding, but not so great for flying," B'Elanna said as she watched Marcus and the Admiral fight to avoid the flying rocks.

"There's a ship closing in on us," Sekaya announced.

"Crap … quicker than I thought," B'Elanna muttered. "Kaya, get weapons online; we're going to need them."

The occupants of the other shuttle must have heard them; they fired. The shots missed, but hit some small asteroids, bouncing the debris off the shields. Sekaya returned fire, pelting their pursuers with more asteroid debris.

"Shields holding," Kathryn announced as she bit down a crack about lousy aim on both sides. "Marcus, how much farther until we get into clear space?"

"About two minutes," he said as he fought the controls.

Another volley of rocks hit the shields as their pursuers fired again. "What kind of warp can we get?" Kathryn yelled over the noise.

"Warp 1," B'Elanna yelled back. "Sorry."

"That will work," she yelled.

"Here we go," Marcus announced as he engaged the drive. The trip, however, lasted around a minute. B'Elanna yelled a Klingon curse as it went offline.

"Warp's dead," she reported. "One of the couplings is fried."

"Well, time to call for help," Kathryn said. "Does this ship have a name?"

xxx

_On the Delta Flyer_

"Think Mom and Chase will be on Culver3 for those talks?" Liz asked quietly.

Tom shrugged. "I suspect they'll keep one of them at the settlement as insurance. Fortunately, we aren't too far away."

They both started as a very familiar, smoky voice came over the comm. "Mayday, Mayday ...This is Admiral Kathryn Janeway aboard the Maquis ship Verdi, calling any Starfleet or Culveran vessels in the vicinity."

Tom jumped toward the helm as his children grinned at each other. Jake checked sensors and opened a channel. "Verdi, this is Delta Flyer. We are about 10 minutes from your location. His hail was closely followed by another: "Verdi, this is Titan. We are about five minutes behind Delta Flyer."

On board the Verdi, Chase grinned and pumped his fist. Sekaya raised an eyebrow. "Delta Flyer is my dad's ship, and that's my brother Jake."

Neither noticed that B'Elanna swallowed hard at Chase's explanation.

Jake's voice came over the com again. "Verdi, this is Delta Flyer. What's your status?"

"We've lost warp drive and there's another Maquis shuttle in pursuit, though we've got a small buffer.," Kathryn replied.

A pause, then: "Verdi, we are now five minutes from your location. Please keep this comm line open."

Kathryn smiled. "Acknowledged, Lieutenant. Tell the Admiral that it's about time he got here."

"I heard that," a familiar voice drawled. B'Elanna let out a gasp that floated over to Kathryn and Marcus. Marcus raised an eyebrow, and Kathryn nodded.

"My dad … Miral's dad," Chase whispered to Sekaya, who let out a slow breath.

"Kate, you two all right?"

"We're fine," she assured him. "We had help getting out."

"How many aboard?"

"Five adults, one child," she replied.

"Acknowledged. We have you on visual. When Titan arrives, set course for their docking bay and await instructions."

This had just become very complicated, she decided. If Tom and Jake were here, Miral was too. This wasn't the best time or place to warn them, but … She sent a message, text only:

"_Tom: You and Miral should know … B'Elanna is on board." _

On Delta Flyer, Tom stared at the message, mouth set in a grim line. Jake looked over at him, alarmed.

"Miral, come here, please," he finally said. She got up as Liz and Ben exchanged a look.

She read the message without reaction, then squeezed her dad's shoulder. "I'm more worried about Mom and Chase right now," she said. Tom nodded and punched in a reply: _"Acknowledged … thank you."_

_xxx_

Marcus heard the scanner beep. "We have company again."

"We see them too," Jake said from Delta Flyer. "Moving to intercept. Maybe Captain Paris will get a lucky shot."

Chase leaned over his mother's shoulder to get to the comm. "Oh, did Ben whip you at Velocity?" he called.

They could hear laughter over the comm, and even Kathryn had to smile. "Normally, Lieutenant," Jake replied, "I would be offended by your remark, but not today. Now, if you'll excuse us ..."

Delta Flyer made a 180-degree turn, a trajectory that would put it behind the second shuttle. When it was in range, Tom picked up the comm.

"Maquis ship, this is the Federation ship Delta Flyer III. Power down your weapons …" His hail was interrupted by a volley of phaser blasts from the shuttle.

"Shields holding," Jake noted as the shuttle fired again. "So _Captain_, do your choppers have aft phasers?"

"They do," Ben said affably. "Are you familiar with Attack Pattern Delta 7?"

"Initiating Pattern Delta 7," Jake said as he pulled the Flyer straight up, then down and over the Maquis shuttle as Ben took aim ...

"Got it!" Ben yelled as the aft phasers hit their mark. "Shields are down," Liz agreed.

Jake's next pass brought them in back of the ship again; a couple of quick shots and the engines were disabled.

They swung back to Verdi. Something had gone terribly wrong. The ship was venting plasma.

"Verdi, your status?" Tom asked urgently.

"The impulse reactor is overloading," Kathryn replied. "We're moving away from Titan."

"That plasma vent took us off critical, but not for long," B'Elanna announced.

Despite the warning, Tom couldn't contain his shock at hearing B'Elanna's voice. To Jake's view, he appeared to be in pain … his eyes were closed and he was taking deep breaths.

Miral looked at him, then over at Liz: She'd seen the reaction, too, and gave Miral a look of sympathy.

Miral swallowed … twice. Then she hit her comm link.

"Delta Flyer to Verdi engineer. Is the impulse manifold clogged?"

A pause. "No, the drive coils are malfunctioning."

"Can you reset the clamps?"

"No, they're hard-wired in."

Miral looked at the console in disbelief. "All right. Try reducing power to all systems by 3 percent. That will help."

Marcus broke in: "We're already losing speed."

"Verdi, performance will improve if we get a load off the drive coils. Stand by ..."

She shut off the comm and looked at her father. "Talk about a cobbled-together shuttle."

"Done by an expert, Mir," Tom said quietly.

"It's going to blow. We have to get them out."

Tom nodded. "I know. I'll talk to Titan."

xxx

On Verdi, B'Elanna looked at Chase. "Is that who I think it is?"

Chase nodded, "That's Miral," he said. At the helm, Marcus glanced over at Kathryn, who nodded slightly. B'Elanna just smiled softly and returned to her readouts.

Miral's voice crackled over the com. "Verdi engineer, this is Delta Flyer. What's your status?"

"Heading toward critical again. The coils are out of alignment and won't respond to reset commands."

Miral sighed. "What kind of coils and capacitors?"

As the two traded technical information, Kathryn had to stifle a gasp. "You know," she finally told Marcus, "if I'd known how this ship was put together, I'd of stayed on the planet." Marcus just smiled. "You wouldn't believe what she's done with the other shuttles," he said.

"You should shoot whoever sold you those coils," Miral finally exclaimed. "They have known alignment problems. But, we have a way out … give me your current readouts."

A short silence after B'Elanna's report ... "All right," Miral said. "We do know that a short feedback pulse can reset these coils. Not for long, but it will buy time. The primary coil is too hot, but let's try the secondary. Start at a half second … and no more," she ordered.

Kathryn, Marcus and Sekaya all chuckled at Miral's tone, and B'Elanna briefly held up her hands in surrender. "Yes ma'am," she said. "Pulse in 3, 2 1 ..." She looked up. "Coil reset. Levels are dropping."

"Kate," Tom's voice broke in as everyone sagged in their chairs. "We have transporter locks on you and Chase. Titan will take everyone else. They'll come by first, and we'll be about a minute or so behind them. Shut down as many systems as you can and prepare to beam out."

"Acknowledged. See you soon," Kathryn said.

"Good luck to you Verdi," Miral said.

B'Elanna swallowed. "Thanks for your help, Commander Paris."

A pause. "Glad I could help … Commander Torres."

"We need to move," Kathryn said softly. Chase and Marcus prepared to switch places. But Regan was having none of it. He was going with Chase, he insisted, and was winding up to a tantrum. Kathryn took a look at the readouts: The coil was out of alignment again.

"Verdi, this is Titan. We can't get a lock on the child."

"Chase, grab him," Kathryn ordered as she motioned for Marcus to sit down. "You all need to leave _now_." She tapped the comm. "Titan, we'll take the child to Delta Flyer. Three adults to beam out."

Regan started to cry as his family disappeared in a burst of light. "Hey, hey; we're next," Chase said, pulling him into his lap. "Hold onto me and don't move," he ordered. Regan buried his head in Chase's chest.

"Tom, three to beam out," Kathryn said.

"Three? Just a sec."

"We don't have a sec," Kathryn retorted. "Coil overload is above critical." On cue, the scanning console exploded.

"Time to go, Thomas; we're on fire back here," she said as they dodged sparks, and said a silent thanks at the first tingle of the transporter beam.

xxx

She'd landed inelegantly on the pad, and slid backwards as Flyer was pushed away by the force of the shuttle explosion. Strong hands grabbed her and she looked up to see Ben.

"Mom? You all right? Anything hurt?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine," she said, pulling his head down for a quick kiss. "Go see to your brother."

Ben had barely moved away when Tom appeared and grabbed her into his arms. "You scared us to death," he whispered into her ear as they hugged each other fiercely.

They finally broke to see their children staring at them. "Do we get a turn to say hello?" Liz teased.

Ben chuckled and turned his attention to Regan, who backed away from him.

"Hey, it's OK. That's Ben," Chase said, pulling the boy to him. "Jake's up front flying the ship. That's my dad over there. And this is Liz … and Miral," he said, pointing to his sisters.

Regan smiled broadly as he saw Miral, and pointed to her forehead. "Ah, you have those, too," she said, leaning over to gently tap his ridges.

"Chase," Kathryn said, "take Regan up to meet Jake. You can fill him in."

She turned back to Tom. "I'm so sorry, I hated to tell you that way."

"I know," Tom said. "It was still a shock, but I'm glad you warned us."

"So," Miral asked quietly, "did I just meet my little brother?"

"No," Kathryn said to everyone's surprise. "What I haven't told you is that Chakotay and B'Elanna had a child together. Her name is Sekaya. Regan is her son; you two just met your nephew."

"What?" Liz gasped. "Seriously? Mir and I _share_ a sister? And a nephew?" Kathryn nodded.

Miral sat heavily on the floor. "Damn! I already thought our family was a genetic pretzel, but this ..."

"I take it she knows about Liz and Miral," Tom asked.

"Yes," Kathryn said. "B'Elanna had told her about Miral. She wanted to know about both her sisters."

He nodded, and Miral and Liz headed for the helm, no doubt to talk with Chase. Ben moved to another console. Tom remained quiet.

"Ironic, isn't it?" he finally asked. "We get left with children while they go off and create another family. Makes you wonder if they lied about hunting Cardassians."

"The thought crossed my mind, but I don't know. I do know there's a rift between B'Elanna and Chakotay. She was secretly planning to leave. She was desperate to get herself and her kids off that planet … desperate enough to take off in a pile of junk."

She shook her head. "There's more going on than anyone knows. Chakotay's been misled … at least I hope he's been misled. But this isn't just a dispute over settlements."


	6. We're Not at Our Best Right Now'

Will was waiting when they docked; he ignored protocol and grabbed Kathryn in a hug, followed by hugs and handshakes all around.

"You cut it a bit close there, Tom," he admonished, to which Tom just shrugged. "But all's well that ends well."

"There's something we need to talk about," Kathryn said as she took Will by the arm. As she talked, he straightened in alarm.

"Starfleet and Fed intelligence are talking with B'Elanna right now," he said quietly, "so I will have a chat with them. In the meantime, Commander Jeffries here will escort you to Sick Bay."

xxx

They walked into Sick Bay to find Deanna Troi and Marcus waiting for them. Regan ran to his father at top speed, yelling, "Daddy! Daddy! I beemeded!"

Miral and Liz looked at each other, then at Tom. "That's Marcus, Sekaya's husband," Kathryn began before she was interrupted by the ship's doctor.

"Sorry, Admiral," Dr. Heller, the CMO, murmured. "My orders are to make sure you and Lt. Paris here undergo an exam. The little fellow, too." He was accompanied by two crewmen from security; apparently he'd heard about Kathryn reputation.

"You two go," Tom ordered. "We'll be right here." He gave Miral's shoulder a quick squeeze. "Let's go say hello," he said quietly. Liz looked at her father, then noted that Ben had slipped behind them. She nodded at him, indicating that he should come along, too.

Deanna started to make introductions, but Marcus beat her to it. "Elizabeth! Hi, I'm Marcus Coyne. Really happy to meet you, he said as he shook her hand. He turned to Miral, and heartily shook her hand. "Miral, thank you. You saved our necks out there."

Miral looked a bit startled. "Glad I could help," she managed.

Deanna broke in to introduce Tom and Ben. Marcus shook Tom's hand heartily, too. "I know you were looking for the Admiral and Chase, sir, but I'm really grateful that you were out there."

Regan's exam went quickly, and Marcus returned to talk a bit more. They were all just starting to get comfortable when the doors opened again, and a young woman with an olive complexion and soft Klingon features walked in. Regan was the first to see her, and he jumped out of his father's arms and raced over. She caught him up in a hug and kissed him, then froze when she noticed the group.

Marcus gently led her over as Deanna looked around the room. Liz and Miral were staring at Sekaya in shock; Ben was curious, though he kept a protective watch over his sisters.

Tom looked thoughtful; and while she knew he adored Kathryn, seeing his ex-wife's daughter had to hurt.

And over on the biobeds, Kathryn and Chase looked at each other helplessly.

All three sisters laughed nervously. "Hi … I'm sorry … I wasn't expecting ..." Sekaya finally managed.

Miral found her voice. "It's OK," she said. "Actually, Mom told us about you … oh, a half hour ago."

"So we're not at our best right now, either," Liz added.

"This is a shock for everyone," Deanna said gently. "And your reactions are normal. You all have a great deal to take in."

They all nodded, but no one could speak. "You know, we have a very nice restaurant and observation area on Deck 8," Deanna continued. "Might I suggest you all get settled, and perhaps you can meet there later and get acquainted."

They agreed, and parted ways. Kathryn and Chase were waiting outside of Sick Bay, and Kathryn pulled her daughters close. "I know that wasn't easy. You two all right?"

"No," Miral groaned. "Me, either," Liz agreed.

"Should we go get that case of Romulan Ale?" Ben teased.

"Oh, no," Tom said. "You leave that alone. That's our insurance against a court-martial."

xxx

Ben arrived at Chase's quarters to find his older brothers lounging in reach of several bottles on the coffee table.

"That synthehol?" he teased as he sat down.

"Nah, real rum," Jake replied. "Help yourself … there's soda, juice if you want. I thought we could _all_ use a drink."

Ben helped himself and settled back on the couch. "I was just at Mir's quarters. Mom's in there trying to talk her and Liz off the ledge, so to speak."

"Oh, crap," Chase said.

Ben shook his head. "They're rattled. They don't know what to do with Sekaya; don't know what to talk to her about; their lives are so different and they don't have common ground ..."

"That's not good," Chase said. "Mir and Liz are usually unflappable."

"Do you blame then?" Jake asked. "They grew up thinking half their bio-parents were dead. Now they've popped up and, hey, by the way, here's another sister."

"Don't blame them at all," Ben said. "You know, I've been wondering: Does this make Sekaya our sister, too?"

"I've wondered that myself," Jake admitted. "Though technically, we're not related."

"No, we're not," Chase said, "but as Mom has reminded me, technically we're not related to many of the people we consider family."

"True, but these folks just appeared, and we don't know much about them. You know them a little," Jake replied, "and Ben at least got introduced. The only one I've met is the little guy, and while he's great ..."

"Actually, Sekaya's the only one who had any warning," Chase pointed out. "She knew about Miral. And Mom told her about Liz."

"But Mir and Liz are still trying to process this," Ben said. "They don't know what kind of relationship to have with her."

"Maybe it's just too early to worry about relationships." Chase said. "Maybe we should just all get to know each other and see what happens."

Ben shrugged. "Seems reasonable to me," he said as Jake nodded in agreement.

They were quiet for a moment. "This not having common ground thing, though," Chase mused. "It's not like they lived in caves. The place was really poor, but they had some things. Cards … someone nailed up a basketball goal …."

"And they had death-trap shuttles," Jake quipped. "True," Chase chuckled. "They could talk about that ship for days." He shook his head. "Mom was _really_ nervous while we were waiting for beam-out."

Ben, who seemed lost in thought, looked over at Chase. "Basketball, huh?"

"Yeah ..." Chase said, puzzled. Ben grinned. "Just had an idea. There has to be a court or two on this ship. And we haven't beaten our uppity sisters at basketball in years."

"Ah," Chase said, "I see where you're going with this. I bet Marcus and Sekaya can play."

Ben nodded. "It would be easier than looking at each other over the dinner table."

"What if they don't go for it?" Jake asked.

"Then we go shoot some baskets," Chase said. "So you find us a court," he said, pointing at Jake. "I'll call Marcus and Sekaya, and then," he finished, looking at Ben, "we'll all drag out Mir and Liz."

xxx

Kathryn raised an eyebrow as her sons walked into Miral's quarters, dressed in T-shirts and shorts.

"OK, you two," Chase told his sisters, "We're challenging you to a basketball game. We have a court reservation in 20 minutes."

"Basketball?" Miral asked as she put down her drink. "We haven't played you guys in years."

"Which means you're out of practice and we can win," Jake smirked.

"By the way, we invited Sekaya and Marcus," Ben said. "They're meeting us at the court. They're bringing Regan, too."

Miral and Liz stared at them, incredulous. "Breaking the ice?" Kathryn asked.

"Has to be better than an awkward dinner," Chase said.

Miral got up. "Guys, you don't have to do this. I mean, Liz and I are the ones ..."

"Hey," Ben interrupted, "we're a package deal here. This affects you, so it affects us, too."

"Right," Chase said. "We thought we should all get acquainted, then worry about the relationships." 

Liz started to laugh. "A package deal? Well, what if she doesn't want three annoying brothers?"

"Too bad," Jake said. "Come on Lizard. Save us from an excruciating dinner."

Liz threw up her hands. "All right, I'm in. I wasn't looking forward to dinner anyway. Come on Mir, let's get some clothes," she said as she pulled her sister off the couch. Miral just shook her head as they headed toward her bedroom. But not before Liz turned to Jake.

"By the way, call me 'lizard' again and I'll throw you out an airlock. The Davison can pick up your frozen ass when it hits Jupiter."

Kathryn burst out laughing, to her sons' amusement. "Just remembering when all five of you were teenagers," she chuckled. "I don't know how we survived."

"I think it was because you or Dad usually took a couple of us to San Francisco every week," Jake said. "Anyway, want to join us?"

"And don't tell us you can't keep up," Chase interjected. "You beat me at tennis last week."

"True," Kathryn said as she moved to the door. "But you have the right idea. So I'm going to get out of the way and let you handle it," she said, giving them a wink before she walked out.


	7. Course changes

Chakotay looked up as Berdi walked into the house, carefully carrying a container.

"Still no word from Jarrol and Mul?" Berdi shook his head. "They've either crashed, or Starfleet or the Culverans got them."

"I've been drawing up plans. We still have some mines that we can plant around the perimeter."

"That's good," Berdi said, feigning interest. "Clariss made you some tea. Your favorite," he said as he set down the container and grabbed a mug from the clutter on the table. "She says it will help you gain some clarity," he added as he poured the liquid into a cup.

"That last batch made me sleepy," Chakotay joked as he picked up the cup. "You having any?"

"You know I hate tea," Berdi said as he pulled a bottle from his coat pocket. "I prefer this."

They sat at the table and talked until Chakotay became woozy. It didn't take long: he'd told Clariss to double the amount of Berylian seeds in the brew.

"Something … wrong ..." Chakotay mumbled. Berdi reached over and patted his shoulder. "You're just going to have a very long dream," he whispered. Chakotay tried to answer, but the blackness overtook him.

Berdi waited a moment, then pulled a hypospray from his pocket. "You're among the first to try the liquid form of Beryl Peril," he said when he finished his work. "Enjoy the next world."

He grabbed the hypospray and his bottle and left without a look back.

xxxx

The morning briefing was a bit grimmer than one might expect, Kathryn mused.

"We at least start off with good news, since Admiral Janeway is here with us this morning," Will began as the assembled officers all nodded in her direction.

"But the information from Lt. Commander Torres and the Coynes has pushed our mission in a new direction." He nodded to an officer on his left: Captain Hallis, I assume Starfleet Intelligence would agree?

"We would," Hallis said, as he referred to a PADD. "Once we asked the right questions, the two Maquis from the shuttle, Jarrol Weyman and Daamin Mul, became quite cooperative. They provided us with extensive information about the Berylian crops. They maintain, however, that they were not told about the buyers, or allowed to see them."

Kathryn sipped her coffee and listened. She already knew that Culvera's application for Federation membership had been put on hold.

"With that in mind," Will continued, "We have new orders. Titan and Delta Flyer will be responsible for apprehending Captain Chakotay and anyone else involved in the abduction of Admiral Janeway and Lt. Paris. "

He nodded at Sam Takai. "Commander Takai's Ranger force will be responsible for eradicating the Berylian crop."

"We have orders from the President's Office," interjected Lena Marel, Federation Security's representative. "That supply of Berylian must be shut down. We don't know how long this pipeline is, but we don't want it in the Federation.

"I assume we won't take a blowtorch to it," Hallis quipped.

Takai shook his head. "Oh, no. For those who aren't familiar, if you try to burn Berylian before it's mature, the smoke is toxic. Several people died on Risa last year when they tried to smoke immature plants."

"In the meantime," Will continued, "the Kerriden and the Whittaker will join us. Their Rangers and the Culveran Defense Forces will secure the planet.

"Secure the planet?" Tom asked.

Will nodded at Marel. "This isn't just a single patch of Berylian; our scans show several fields in different locations, and they're well-concealed," she said. "This is more than just the work of two or three people. So, right now _everyone_ on the planet is a suspect."

xxx

"So what's B'Elanna's status, and her children's?" Kathryn asked Will after the meeting.

"At the moment," Will said as he leaned against the desk, "I'm told there's no evidence that they were involved in the drug trade, or in planning your abduction. Helping you and Chase and providing information certainly goes in their favor. But the investigation isn't complete."

Kathryn nodded. "I assume B'Elanna is under Starfleet jurisdiction. Tom said she'd taken an indefinite leave of absence."

"I'd say nearly 30 years is pretty close to indefinite," Will quipped. "But she is, so unless things change, we're providing transport to a Starfleet officer and her family." He looked at Kathryn for a moment. "I've always wondered why she and Chakotay weren't declared dead."

Kathryn shrugged. "Once Tom's divorce was final, that decision fell to John Torres. He wouldn't do it. Neither would Chakotay's sister. We never pushed; we had other legal channels to get what we needed. To the girls, though, they were dead; I think that was easier for them to accept."

Will just nodded and remained quiet, which made Kathryn a bit nervous. "Something up, Will?"

"You may be aware that the news services have broken the story about your abduction."

"I am," she said quietly. "I haven't read any of it, but I suspect it's _all_ hit the fan by now. Am I right?

"Afraid so," he said.

"Well, so much for trying to live a quiet life," she sighed.

xxx

"It's bigger than I expected," Chase said as he walked around the hover copter.

"Very maneuverable, though," Ben replied.

"Missiles?" Marcus asked as he pointed to the weapons mounted on the sides. Ben nodded. "Photon missiles. Good for long-range targets and very good for underwater targets."

They were interrupted by the arrival of Commander Takai, who eyed them suspiciously. "Care to identify yourselves, gentlemen?"

The Paris brothers snapped to attention and stated their names, ranks, and affiliations. Marcus, who was somewhat taken aback, introduced himself. "Mr. Coyne is our brother-in-law, sir," Chase explained.

"Since this is not a secure area, I brought my family to see what I fly in the Air Reserve, sir," Ben added.

"Paris, eh? Well, now I understand why you're all on board. Nice to see that you're safe, Lieutenant," he said, nodding to Chase. He turned his attention to Ben. "You say you fly one of these, Captain?"

"Yes, sir. As I said, Florida Air Reserve. I'm with the 123rd Special Operations Wing." Takai's eyebrows went up, and he took a quick look at the patch on Ben's duty uniform. "You're one of the StillKickers?"

"Yes, sir," Ben replied.

Takai held out his hand. "Well, Captain, I'm pleased to meet you. From what I'm hearing, your unit is doing a hell of a job in battling the drug trade on Earth."

Chase noted Jake's shocked look as Ben shook the commander's hand. In most things, Jake was a great guy, but when it came to his piloting abilities and Starfleet, he was a jackass. He'd been especially condescending about Ben's decision to get a civilian degree and join the Air Reserve.

Of course, he hadn't fared any better. But the barbs about his diplomatic postings stopped when Mom got wind of it. She took it personally: It must have been an epic ass-chewing because Jake sent him a bottle of Bajoran Springwine with an apology.

"So what was that about?" Marcus asked as they left.

"Well," Jake said, "he's a superior officer, so we have to show respect. And those ships are part of his command, so he has a right to ask why we were there." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "And he's a Ranger; believe me, Marcus, you _never_ want to cross a Ranger."

xxx

"Should we?" Miral murmured as she and Liz took their coffee into the observation lounge. Chase, who was sitting with Sekaya and Marcus, was waving them over.

"It would look bad if we walked away, Mir," Liz said.

"Who's Ben sitting with?" Miral asked as they sat down.

"The real question is 'Why is Ben sitting with a Ranger? And a commander at that?'" Liz added.

"We were just updating Kaya on that," Chase said. "We ran into him in the Shuttle Bay. Ben took us down there to see the hover copters … they're the type that he flies."

"So this 'StillKicker' thing," Sekaya asked. "Is that like an alcohol still?"

"It is," Chase said. "On Earth, in the United States, it was illegal to sell alcohol at one point in the 20th century. So, people had stills. 'StillKickers' is a riff on the government agents sent out to destroy the stills."

"So what kind of stills does Ben kick over?" Sekaya asked.

"Drug stills," Miral said. Chase nodded. "Berylian, actually," he added. The southern part of the North American continent, the old Floridas, to be precise, is a big drug-running alley for Berylian. From what Ben tells me, there are processing plants hidden all over; they even hide stashes underwater in the reef systems. They move it from there throughout the Federation … probably beyond."

"Ben's unit has the job of trying to disrupt that movement," Liz said. "They destroy the caches and the processing plants; make arrests. He's been called up to the northern part of the continent to destroy crops."

"Berylian's a _big_ problem in the Federation," Chase said. "I see the non-classified briefings and the news reports, Every day, there's something: deaths, arrests. I imagine everyone from the Federation President down is going batshit crazy over the idea that Culvera might be a drug gateway."

Marcus looked at a chronometer. "Hey," he said, nudging Sekaya. "We need to get Reg from childcare."

"How is little guy?" Miral asked.

"He's great," Marcus said. "He's learning so much at school and childcare … it's amazing."

"By the way, we're having dinner with Mom," Sekaya said. "You're welcome to join us," she said to Miral. "You're all welcome to join us."

Liz and Chase murmured their regrets. Miral shook her head. "I'm not ready for that yet," she said, "but I do appreciate the offer."

After they left, Liz looked at her sister. "Think you'll ever be at the point that you'd have dinner with B'Elanna?"

"Don't know," Miral said thoughtfully. "She still needs to explain herself; I suppose it depends on how that goes."

Liz shrugged. "So, I take it Ben and the commander over there hit it off."

"They did. He was quite impressed that Ben was a StillKicker."

"What we really want to know," Miral interjected, "was whether Jake was around for that."

"He was," Chase grinned, "and he was properly shocked."

"Good," Liz said. "Dear Jacob needs to get his head out of his ass when it comes to Ben."

"I think dear Jacob believed all the praise that Grandpa heaped on him," Miral said, shaking her head. "Sometimes I think Ben should just punch him. He has medals, for God's sake. He deserves some respect."

"Anyone want to lay bets on when Mom finally sweet-talks Dad into retiring so he and Ben can start that design firm?" Chase teased.

Both his sisters laughed. "I doubt he'll go unless Mom does," Liz said.

"Of course, they'd both want to test those designs," Miral added.

"Oh, no," Liz said. "Mom has said she'd shoot them both if they tried. And Grams would help."

"They have reasons," Chase allowed.

They were interrupted by Ben's arrival. "Hey, have a nice chat with the Commander?" Miral asked.

"I did; we talked shop," Ben said. "Sounds like fun," Miral answered, then took a closer look. "You all right?" Ben looked a bit wobbly.

"No. I've had three beers on an empty stomach. I really need something to eat."

"Oh, hell, sit down," Chase said as he scooted over. "A nice greasy burger will sop some of that up. We'll even join you."


	8. Mothers and Daughters

"Should I see her?" Miral asked.

"Same answer I gave Liz: Yes, you should," Kathryn said patiently. "But she'll have to wait; you don't."

"You're my mother."

"Always. And you're my daughter." Kathryn sighed. "But honey, Klingon I am not. She's the other half of you." She smiled. "At least you should see where your engineering genes came from."

"You sound like Dev, you know."

"Funny, Liz told me that I sound like Jon."

No use in arguing with Mom. "I suppose she owes me an explanation."

"She does," Kathryn said firmly. "And she'd like to give you one. I don't like what she did to you and your dad, even though I got the benefit of it. But she got herself into a nightmare and is paying the price."

"Not totally. She did get another daughter out of it."

Kathryn shook her head. "I'm not going there, honey." She sighed. "Like you said, you should have an explanation. After that, it's up to you. If you want a relationship with her … or not ... Dad and I will support you. But we're not pushing either way."

"Dad hasn't weighed in on this."

"He has his own emotions to work through. As volatile as their relationship was, he loved B'Elanna enough to marry her and conceive you. He'd promised not to leave her, and she left _him_. It hurt. He clocked a lot of hours with a therapist to get past that."

She considered for a moment. "We both clocked a lot of hours with therapists. I had my own hurt to work through … not to mention the ups and down of starting marriage with an infant and a toddler in tow."

Miral sat quietly for a moment, then leaned over and kissed her. "I'm sorry. I haven't considered that this has been hard on you and Dad, too. Harder, I suspect. For what it's worth, you guys did a hell of a job making us into a family."

Kathryn chuckled. "Well, thank you. Your dad and I always joke that we were held together by love, laughter, and a couple of good lawyers." She gave her eldest a hug. "We'll get through this, honey. I don't know what it will look like in the end, but we'll all be OK."

xxx

Miral found B'Elanna at the sweep of windows that overlooked Titan's engineering section.

"Warp engines don't change much," B'Elanna remarked.

"Some modifications; more fuels. But they all still do the same thing."

B'Elanna nodded. "I've been reading up."

"I do know about you, professionally. Some of the things you cooked up on Voyager are required reading in engineering courses."

B'Elanna chuckled. "Really?"

"A _lot_ of the discoveries from Voyager are in the textbooks. Liz and Jake and I have all either burst into each others' dorm rooms, or commed each other with 'You won't believe what I just found!'"

She was quiet for a moment. "Thank you for getting Mom and Chase out of there. I … we all are indebted to you for that."

"Let's just say I made a small repayment on a very large debt. And thank you; your help saved our lives. I'm indebted to you."

"Then pay me back by telling me why you ended up there. Why did you leave me and Dad? Is it because things weren't good with you two?"

B'Elanna nodded toward a grouping of chairs, and they sat. "I should have this down pat; I've certainly had time to think about it.

"Look, those seven years on Voyager ... it was the most stable home I'd ever had. I had my work, I had friends, I married your Dad and we were expecting you. I wasn't thrilled about the idea of raising you on a starship, but it was home.

"Then suddenly, we were back in San Francisco, a place that had bad memories for both of us. Our friends were scattering. We had families we barely knew or were at odds with. We were exhausted from the debriefings ... from being new parents. And we had to start making decisions about the rest of our lives. We had counselors, but I … I couldn't focus enough to even talk about things. Your dad and I started taking it out on each other. And I couldn't cope anymore.

"When Chakotay asked me to go fight Cardassians, well, that was was something I knew. I just wanted to get away for a while. I wasn't sure that your dad and I were going to make it, but I needed some time to think.

"And then it all went to hell ... and this time Kathryn Janeway wasn't around to hold things together." She smiled wryly. "At least until now."

She swallowed a couple of times to push back the tears. "I'm so sorry, Miral. I did to you what my father did to me. And I don't know how to make up for it. I'm not sure I can."

Miral sat back. She had been prepared to fight, to vent her anger at this woman. She hadn't expected this.

"For what it's worth," she finally said. "Granddad was ashamed of leaving you. Though he'd said some things … I got the impression that Grandmother might have killed him if he went back."

"Well, that wouldn't surprise me," B'Elanna conceded.

Miral ran a hand through her hair. "Look, no offense, but I don't see you as my mother. You were stories and images, and these," she said, tapping her ridges. "Kate Paris was there every day. She's the only mother I know. I don't want a replacement."

B'Elanna raised an eyebrow. "Kate Paris?"

"That's who she is at home. Admiral Janeway comes out with the uniform. Though we saw quite of bit of _her_, too."

B'Elanna smiled wryly. "Your dad insisted that she be your godmother. Maybe he was prescient." She sighed. "I knew you'd be fine with your dad, but I had a rough time growing up as a half Klingon. I was worried for you. Were you OK?"

"_What do I tell you?" Miral thought. "That I grew up in a home full of laughter and affection? That when we'd hear Dad put on his ancient jazz music, we'd sneak downstairs to watch him and Mom dance in the living room? That Mom made sure we had dogs, and Dad taught us all to fly? Would it be cruel to tell you those things?"_

"I was fine. Bloomington, Indiana, isn't a backwater, you know," she finally said.

"You lived in Indiana?"

"Yeah, we moved … I was almost three. We took the big house; Grams built a smaller one on the property.

"We also have a house in San Francisco. Dad has to be at the Academy a couple of days a week," she said to B'Elanna's raised eyebrow. "Mom worked at home a lot, but she still had to check in …

"Anyway, we were all in the Flexible Studies programs at school, so when one of the folks went to San Francisco, they usually took a couple of us along. Sometimes we all went. We had grandparents and cousins and friends in both places, so it was fun. Liz and I both played soccer at the Starfleet school in San Francisco.

"I can't say that I didn't run into the occasional bully. Actually, we _all_ ran into the occasional bully: Some people don't like admirals' kids, let alone Klingons. But we all stood up for each other. There were a couple of times Mom or Dad and our aunts got called in because a bunch of us beat the snot out of a bully. But after that, word got around."

B'Elanna nodded. "I'm glad you were OK. And I am proud of you."

Miral leaned back and crossed her arms. "You know, I don't know what to do with you."

"You wouldn't be the first one to say that," B'Elanna quipped, bringing a chuckle from Miral, who then sobered.

"If you're looking for a big reunion, like I said, I don't see you as ..."

B'Elanna shook her head "Look, you'll always be my firstborn. But if you don't want anything to do with me, I'll respect that."

She looked down, then back up at Miral. "I hope we can be friends. I … I may ask to return to active duty … I may be the Fleet's oldest lieutenant commander, but I'm still happiest around a warp drive. I could use a crack engineer to help me brush up on the advances."

"As I said, you're in the textbooks. But, I suppose if you need help with something ..."

They were quiet for a moment. "By the way, how old was that shuttle? Had to be at least 30."

B'Elanna raised an eyebrow. "Try closer to 50. That's why I had to improvise so much."

"Oh, my God," Miral said, laughing. "No wonder that thing blew up. Look, I'm restoring a Class 7 shuttle at the farm … it's only 20 years old. The engine is giving me fits. Mom and Dad and my brother Ben have helped, but I could use another opinion. If you're up for it, that is ..."

B'Elanna brightened. "Sure, if your dad and the Admiral are OK with it."

"I think Mom will be. She once told me she missed talking engineering with you. But it will be a couple of months till I get back to it. I have a short posting at Planetia Utopia. Experimental warp core project."

"Really? I'd like to hear about that."

Miral smiled. "Right now, it's classified. But if you get reinstated, who knows ..."


	9. The Mission Begins

The appearance of a contingent of Starfleet and Culveran security officers shocked the Maquis settlement into quiet. From the middle of the group — all armed with compression rifles — stepped an officer, tall, weathered, with a shock of white dispersing into his dark hair.

"I am Commander Arav of the Starfleet Ranger Force," he announced as the Rangers and security officers began to fan out around the settlement. "We are here as part of the investigation into the abduction of Admiral Janeway and her attache."

A woman in fatigues stepped from behind the commander. "I am Director Lena Marel of Federation Security. We will have instructions for everyone once they are outside, so we ask that you stay where you are."

"Which one of these is Captain Chakotay's home?" Arav said: It was an order, rather than a question. A woman pointed toward a shelter, and Arav sent two Rangers over.

"What are you going to do with us?" a voice asked defiantly.

"After our investigation is finished, any of you who wish to stay may do so," Marel said. "I'm told that any of you who wish to settle on Culvera will be welcome. Also …" She was interrupted by a yell from Chakotay's shelter: "We need a medic over here. STAT!"

Arav no sooner dispatched a medic than yells went up from several other shelters. "Sir, you may want to see this," one Ranger called. "We have bodies."

xxx

On Titan, Dr. Heller was frowning as he looked at the PADD. "Mrs. Coyne," he asked gently, "are you aware that your father was ingesting Berylian?

Sekaya nodded hesitantly. "We were afraid of that, but we had no proof." 

The CMO raised an eyebrow. "He's being treated for an overdose of Berylian — a rather massive overdose. The exam shows some organ damage that's consistent with long-term use of the drug."

"We'd noticed some changes in his behavior," Marcus said. "But we couldn't find anything … Tried to talk to him, but he denied using anything. We've suspected that someone was feeding it to him."

"And who would have drugged him?" asked Will Riker, who had been listening to the exchange.

"Berdi," Marcus said. "His partner, Clariss, cooked for him. Chakotay had dinner with them often."

"Will he be all right?" Sekaya asked anxiously.

"We'll do all we can to get the drug out of his system. We'll know more in the next 24 hours," the doctor said kindly. "Why don't you check back later?"

After the couple left, the doctor handed Will a PADD. "Better inform the Security and Intelligence people. Seems the Beryl Peril pushers have found a new way to deliver it. We found evidence that the Captain was injected with the drug.

"Injected?"

Heller shrugged. "I'm surprised it's taken this long for them to come up with an injectable form. But this can only mean that we'll see more overdoses … and deaths."

Will raised an eyebrow and Heller shrugged again. He had opinions on the matter, but he wasn't going to voice them to Riker. "Anyway, Admiral, if you'll excuse me, I have to file a report with the Federation Health Ministry."

xxx

Kathryn stood at the window overlooking the brightly lit shuttle bay, watching the activity. Actually, she was watching Ben, dressed in an orange flight suit, who was talking with Commander Takai and two other pilots. A lot of nodding going on, she mused. Must be final instructions.

ooo

"_Kathryn," Will had said, "Commander Takai has requested that Ben join his hover copter team on the mission. Says he has the specific experience and skills they need in destroying Berylian fields. He was also quite impressed with Ben's service record."_

"_He should be," Kathryn quipped._

"_Air Reserve has given us permission to use him. But he's not obligated; we can still pull him."_

_Kathryn glared at him. "What? Have his mommy pull him off the mission? Come on, he'd never forgive me. He'd never live it down, either." She shook her head. "I'm certainly apprehensive, but he's an adult, and this is the job he's chosen." She glanced over at Will. "And you didn't pull Andy off his latest posting." Lt. Andrew Riker was a tactical officer aboard the T.C. Baker, which was patrolling the Neutral Zone._

_Will just laughed. "I did not. Though my mother-in-law was so upset with me for not stepping in that she wouldn't speak to me for three months. Three very peaceful months."_

_ooo_

Tom slipped up behind her, lightly grasping her upper arms. "Looks like they're nearly ready," he remarked.

"She nodded. "You, know, that's the first time I've seen Ben in a flight suit."

"And he looks good in it," he teased as he squeezed her arms. "He'll be all right, Kate. He's an excellent pilot, and he's in good hands."

"I know," she said quietly. "And I understand that Jake's wrangled a backup spot. Not that he would tell us."

"Of course not," he said. "But you know he'd want to get in on the action. Especially since his little brother has a big role." Kathryn rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to take the Delta Flyer for a spin. Miral asked me to check the nav upgrade. Want to be my co-pilot?" She considered. "Sure, at least I can do something productive."

xxx

"You haven't mentioned anything about Will's briefing," she said once they settled into the ship.

He shrugged. "Ten dead; six in the Maquis settlement; four in the Culveran settlement. Most of them were shot; two of the Culverans died of a drug overdose. One of the dead Maquis is Berdi's partner, Clariss."

She raised an eyebrow. "And Berdi is nowhere to be found."

"Right; neither is Akent. There's also a new front on the drug war. Seems Berylian comes in an injectable form now. There are indications that the two Culverans … and Chakotay … were injected with it."

"Injected?" She shook her head. "How is Chakotay doing?"

"Still in serious condition, from what I hear." He looked over at his wife, who was staring at the viewscreen. "How was your chat with Internal Affairs?"

"Oh, delightful," she said sarcastically. "Same questions, same answer: This wasn't a plot. They've already been through three years worth of office communications, as well as our home communications. Chase tells me they've been through his communications, too."

"They're obviously not going to find anything," Tom said. "Some of that is standard procedure … though Culvera didn't have subspace communication until two years ago. ..."

"Yeah," she said, shaking her head. "It's just bringing back some nasty memories from the review board after Voyager. She sighed. "I suppose I should be grateful that I'm here. Apparently, this is quite the story at home. Phoebe is getting calls from reporters; I'm just glad Mom is out of town."

"I've heard some of the old crew are getting calls, too," he said. "I have to admit, this is a hell of a story. Maybe today's mission will give them something new to focus on."

"Oh, let's hope," she muttered.

"How are you doing otherwise?" he asked quietly. She hadn't said much since her first night back.

"There's not a lot left to say," she said with a shrug. "It certainly impacts our family; how much remains to be seen."

"Some of that is out of our hands," he said quietly. "Miral seems open to having some kind of relationship with B'Elanna."

"How do you feel about that?"

"I'd like to think I've gotten past my anger. And I don't want to make things awkward for Miral … suppose it will depend on how things go when we finally talk." He raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, I asked how _you_ were doing."

She countered with her own raised eyebrow. "I've told you that I don't see B'Elanna as a threat to our marriage. Which reminds me, we have an anniversary coming up."

"Yes, number 28. And you're still avoiding my question. You're pretty good at stuffing things down, but I can tell when you're angry. And I think you're very angry right now."

She looked over at him then. "You know me too well," she said softly. "You're right. I'm trying very hard not to let my anger influence Liz. But given what this has stirred up … his reactions … Right now, I wish to hell he had died out there."

"_Delta Flyer, this is Titan. We're about to launch the shuttles; please adjust your headings ..."_

"Acknowledged, Titan … moving to the new co-ordinates now." He looked over at Kate. "Showtime."

She nodded, and they watched as Titan's shuttle bay doors opened and a stream of ships flew out. Ben's ship would go down by transporter. She could see another stream of ships from the Kerriden … one of those piloted by her eldest son.

"Godspeed," she breathed.

xxx

Miral slipped into Sick Bay, which was quiet, considering the hour. She saw Sekaya in the back of the room, sitting next to the biobed that held Chakotay's still form.

"Hey," she whispered as she slipped into the seat next to her. Sekaya smiled gratefully. "He's doing better; the doctor thinks he'll recover."

Miral just nodded. "Elizabeth wouldn't come?" Sekaya asked, sounding resigned.

"She's not ready for that," Miral replied.

"Well, thank you for being here for Papa."

Miral sighed. "Please don't misunderstand. I'm not here for him. Frankly, I have no reason to like him, either. I'm here for _you_ … Liz and I … our family … we're all trying to hold each other up as best we can. Liz and I agree that includes you."

They both sat silently for a while, just watching the monitors beep over Chakotay's head. "He's not a monster," Sekaya said sadly.

"From what I've been told, he sounds like a complicated guy," Miral said quietly. "But I think he took a wrong turn and a lot of people got hurt, including you."

A nurse approached them. "We need to take care of a few things for him, so it might be best if you went out for a while," he said kindly.

"I probably should get back," Sekaya said as they walked out. "Reg is probably hungry, and Marcus isn't too great with those replicator things."

Miral cleared her throat. "Actually, they're up on Deck 8 with Liz and Chase. We thought we'd buy you lunch, and babysit Reg if you and Marcus want to sit with your dad." She didn't add that they needed the company, too, considering where Ben and Jake were right now …

Sekaya seemed a bit surprised. "Thank you … that's very kind."

Miral just smirked as the lift arrived. "Well, occasionally, there are advantages to having siblings. Though I have to warn you," she added conspiratorially, "we've pretty much been on our best behavior."


	10. Unexpected twists

"Let's go," Takai ordered as the hover copters materialized on the planet. The engines roared to life.

"Checkmate 1 to Checkmate 2, Bishop 1, Bishop 2; mark coordinates," he announced over the comm, following with instructions for the other runabouts in the group. Finished, he looked over at Ben, "Take her up, Captain."

The copters, followed by a half-dozen runabouts, flew to the mountainous side of the planet, looking for the areas planted in Berylian.

As they came across the first fields, Jake, who was piloting Bishop 1, watched as four of the roundabouts landed. The Rangers on board would use drones to disperse chemicals that would destroy the plants. His ship and Bishop 2 would accompany the copters on to the steeper elevations.

Jake pulled the runabout above the copters to provide cover if needed, and, as the Rangers on board joked, to stay out of the way. As they gained elevation, Checkmate 1 broke off and headed toward a small patch of Berylian. The valley, tucked between some rock outcroppings, was a tight fit; too tight for a runabout. But the copter smoothly traveled through and dropped chemicals on the patch.

Things seemed routine as they watched Checkmate 2 destroy another patch. But as they came over another ridge, communications crackled to life. "All ships: We have company down there." Two men were in the field; they started running when they heard the copters.

Jake heard Takai call for a security backup. Then Ben's voice crackled over the communicator: "Checkmate 2: Respirators on. Bishop 1, Bishop 2, be alert for possible bio-hazard/low visibility conditions."

In their cockpit, Takai nodded. "Best to be cautious." Ben nodded back. Runners had been known to torch Berylian fields in an attempt to evade or kill pursuers. It usually didn't end well for the runners.

They circled over the two; Takai switched to the external speakers and ordered them to stop. Their answer was to fire at the copter.

"Evasive maneuvers," Takai ordered as Ben pulled up to dodge the incoming fire. "Do not return fire. Repeat, do not return fire," the commander ordered the other crafts. "We can't ignite those fields."

The men resumed running toward two shuttles parked at the edge of the field. One, an old Starfleet issue. The other ...

"That's a military shuttle ... transponder says it's Culveran," Jake's co-pilot said. The copters had seen it too; he could hear Takai transmitting the information.

The men continued their sprint, veering toward the military shuttle, when one of them stopped. Both copters prepared to evade fire again, but instead of shooting at them, the man shot his partner in the back.

"Someone didn't want to share the profits," Ben remarked.

The man began to run again; as he broke into the clearing, Checkmate 2 fired phasers. The man fell, but managed to get to his feet and continued his run toward the shuttle.

"Captain, that shuttle doesn't take off," Takai ordered.

"Understood," Ben replied.

The man was stumbling now, but made it to the shuttle. He'd just reached up to grab the door's edge when they saw the flash. The man fell backward, his phaser flying. The shuttle began to lift off.

"Holy shit," the Ranger behind Ben muttered. "There won't be anybody to arrest at this rate."

Before anyone could react, Ben's copter swung in front of the shuttle, impeding its forward movement. The shuttle fired; Ben held his position, letting the shields take the barrage for as long as possible.

When the other copter pulled alongside the shuttle Ben pulled away, then circled back to take a position above the craft, which was trying to gain altitude. Checkmate 2 dropped back and fired at the shuttle, taking out its weapons systems.

"That's some ballsy flying out there," Jake's co-pilot murmured. All he could do was agree.

The deadly dance continued for several clicks, as the copters continued to dog the shuttle, creating enough turbulence to prevent a getaway. At several points, Ben dipped the copter close to the shuttle, trying to force it to land, but without success.

The shuttle began to fly in a zig-zag pattern; the pilot looking to create an opening to escape. Jake lowered his craft's altitude and moved into position to intercept. The dance went on until Checkmate 2's transmission broke in.

"All ships: Target has a warp core breach in progress. Target's warp core is at critical!"

"Break off," Takai ordered, and all four ships veered away to escape the coming explosion. Ben fought the controls as the shock wave hit them but managed to fly through.

There was silence in the craft as they reached a safe distance. "Nice flying, Cap," one of the Rangers finally said. "Yeah, thanks, Cap," his partner added.

"For a moment, I thought it might be a trick," Ben said softly.

"Same here," Takai said. "Apparently not."

Takai checked on the runabouts' status, then ordered a survey of the crash site. Ben turned the craft back toward the crash, carefully watching the wind patterns. Harvested Barylian was burning along with the shuttle, so recon would have to be done by the runabouts, which were sealed.

"What do you think, Commander," one of the Rangers asked, "accident or self-destruct?"

"My money's on self-destruct," Takai said. "Given what they were flying, I suspect those folks figured that they were dead, no matter what."

xxx

Much later, Ben was in the bedroom, pulling on his uniform when the door chimed. He yelled for the visitor to enter … and walked out to find his mother waiting.

"Hi there," he said as he picked her up in a hug. She laughed and hugged him back, maybe a bit harder than usual.

"How are you?" she asked as she cupped his face. Her tone was warm, but he could see the underlying worry in her eyes.

"I'm fine. The respirators did their job, and I'm _well_ decontaminated. Just took a shower to wash off _that_ smell."

"I appreciate that. Anyway, I hear congratulations are in order on your successful mission." She didn't mention that she'd heard about his flying maneuvers …

He frowned. "Not completely. I wanted that shuttle in one piece."

"You're sure it was Culveran?" He shrugged. "We have vids, transponder data. I'm sure someone will confirm it."

"Well, looks like this drug ring goes way beyond a few enterprising Maquis," she said quietly. "At least your team shut down some of the supply."

"A drop in the bucket, though," he said, shaking his head.

"Small victories," she answered, squeezing his arm.

He just crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow … a gesture that reminded her so much of her father.

"Since you're here, I _have_ wondered why you haven't asked about my re-enlistment plans," he said.

"I like to leave those questions to your grandmothers," she quipped. "_Are_ you going to re-up?"

"No," he said. He shrugged at her raised eyebrow. "Let's just say I don't want to get too jaded."

"Buying into the shuttleport, then?" He helped out at the local facility, and the owner had offered him a stake in the business.

He shook his head. "Hank and I won't agree about running the place."

"So …?"

"I have a standing offer at Carmichael … the first place I interned," he said. "I may join them for a design project or two, then head out on my own. I doubt Dad's anywhere near retiring."

She shrugged. "I suspect he has a couple more years in him. But as for the rest, it's your life, Benjamin. Don't put it on hold for your dad, or me, or anyone."

She paused. "When you're ready to start that firm, or if you decide that you'd rather own a shuttleport, come talk to me. I can help with credits."

He raised an eyebrow, and she shrugged. "A long time ago, I came into some credits. Finally decided that I'd use them to help my kids if they needed to raise a stake for something … like a business."

_N__o need to tell him that those credits came from Justin's death settlement — credits she'd never touched out of guilt. Over the years, she'd __occasionally __muse about what ifs: __such as what if she and Justin had children … __So, __finally, she__ divided the credits into five accounts. __A__nything left at her death would go to the school on Klatus Prime. _

It was Ben's turn to swallow. "Thank you … I don't know what to say."

"Well, let's not advertise it," she said lightly. "I'm enough of a traditionalist to insist that you all make your own way. This is just extra."

xxx

That evening, Jake slipped into the vacant seat next to Ben at the restaurant. "Hey," he opened. Ben looked up from his dessert, surprised. Jake caught something else, too — a slight wariness.

"Oh, hey," Ben said, his voice neutral. "Thanks for your help today. Welcome to the exciting world of drug interdiction."

"That … that was one hell of an airshow," Jake said. "Certainly the most ballsy flying I've ever seen."

Ben just chuckled. "_That_ is pretty much a regular day at the office when we chase drug runners."

"That's your regular day, eh?" Jake teased. "How about I buy you a beer after dinner and you tell me about your extraordinary days?"

"Maybe another night," Ben said as his eyes drifted toward the doorway, where two young women in Ranger uniforms were looking his way. He smiled, then reached over the table and tapped Chase. "Our dates are here, you ready?"

Chase looked over his shoulder at the two women and smiled. "I am indeed," he said as they both got up. "Have fun," Miral said as they walked past. "Don't wait up, Mir," Chase quipped, making her laugh.

"When did that happen?" Jake asked. Miral noted that he looked a bit wistful.

She shrugged. "Beats me. I don't put too much stock in it, but you never know."

"Ben's quite the popular guy. I tried to talk with him earlier, but he was in the lounge with a bunch of Rangers."

Miral bit back the urge to say something evil. "You know, there's a fun guy under that quiet demeanor."

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Spend much time with him?"

"When I'm home. We were all in Paris a couple of months ago for the football playoffs; Chase got tickets. And he sends me ship designs to look over."

Jake frowned. "How come I don't hear about these things?"

"How come nobody hears from you?" Miral retorted. "We're not Mom. If you never answer our coms or letters, we stop sending. Think you're out of the loop now? Wait till you get back from three years in the Beta."

Jake didn't answer, so she decided to drop the subject. She sat back and studied her brother for a moment. "It's interesting … you and Ben have different personalities, but you're the same kind of crazy."

Jake took a sip of his drink, obviously amused. "And how's that?"

"You both get kicks from risking your lives. "You've blasted around in competitive shuttles that were a millimeter from exploding. Ben flies hover copters to chase drug runners … and get shot at. Like I said, same kind of crazy, though Ben gets a pass for public service."

Jake just shook his head. "I guess that's one way to look at it."

"_Why do I bother?" she thought. _"You know, he and Chase may have gotten it right. They've figured out how to do important work and still have a life."

"You don't have a life?"

"Doesn't feel like it sometimes. How about you?"

"I'm OK, I stay busy."

"Don't we all?" she deadpanned. "You know, I love my job. Dev loves his job. We're both excited about our new projects. But we're tired of projects that are a quadrant apart." She sighed. "Liz tells me she and Jon are having the same conversations."

"You're rather introspective," he remarked.

"Well, I've had to sort through a lot of stuff lately. Everything I thought I knew flew out the airlock." Jake just winced.

"So," he finally said, "what are you going to do about it?"

A soft snort. "Maybe look at consultant posts. Maybe Dad and Ben will need an engineer when they start that design firm. Or maybe Dev and I should start our own firm."

"Or maybe you should be a bit more picky about your postings," he suggested.

"Three _gold_ pips would make that a lot easier. We did put in for spots on the Atlantic Class project. They're about to start final preps; they'll need more folks. That would keep us both in Marin for a while."

She looked at a chronometer. "And speaking of Dev, he should be off duty now, so time for the nightly call," she said as she got up. "By the way, if Ben does take you up on that beer, have him tell you about the morons who threw their drug stash in an alligator pit. It's hilarious … in a gruesome sort of way."

Jake watched her go out the door, then drained his glass and headed to his quarters.

"Computer, call up MomLetter 11," he ordered as he sat down at the desk. Not that he didn't have it memorized: He'd watched it nearly every night since he was notified about the abduction.

His mother's face appeared on the screen, and once again, seeing the white streaks in her hair surprised him. She gave him that broad smile she reserved for her kids.

"_Evening, Jake; time for the monthly letter." She yawned. "Sorry, it's late here, so this will be short. We're both in San Francisco right now. Dad is up to his ears in work. His department's about to launch a new module. _

_Your Grams and Aunt Martha are going to the Carolinas for a few weeks. Next week, I head to Culvera on a diplomatic mission. They've asked for admission into the Federation. Chase has some business there, too, so I got permission to take him along._

"_I checked on your ship's position the other day; nice to know you're ahead of schedule. We'll talk about the holidays later," she managed before yawning, and apologizing, again._

_She gave him a wry smile. "Since I haven't been told otherwise, I assume you're alive and well. So, keep it that way, will you? Talk to you later … love you."_

The screen went dark; he just stared at it for a moment. "Computer," he finally said, "display all available non-classified information on the Atlantic Class ship project."


	11. Fathers and Daughters

"I know the timing could be better," Deanna said as she and Liz stood outside of Titan's Sick Bay. "But given the circumstances, this is likely the only chance you'll have to talk with your father in private."

Liz raised an eyebrow. "You mean better here than in the brig? I'm sure the gossip mags would like a vid of _that_. I'd get enough credits to buy my own island."

She sighed. "I know … I know," she said to Deanna's raised eyebrow. "I've been though this with Mom. He's the other half of my heritage, and so on. But as far as I'm concerned, I just left my father on Deck 8," she said quietly. "I do feel like I'm entitled to an explanation. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised … it seems to have worked out for Mir. But I'm not holding my breath."

They headed toward the secure section of the hospital. The security officer on duty nodded and lifted the force field. Liz walked in alone, stopping at the biobed of the room's lone occupant.

He was on the bed, eyes closed. An older, thinner, definitely more worn version of the man who she'd seen in images. The braid and white stubble she saw in the vid were gone; his gray hair was cut to regulation length.

He opened his eyes — the same shade of brown as hers — and regarded her quietly.

"I'm Elizabeth Paris," she said firmly.

He smiled at her as he sat up, which she found unnerving.

"I've been asked to tell you that we've talked with Aunt Sekaya. She'll meet us when we dock at McKinley Station. She's looking forward to seeing you."

She was surprised by the range of emotions that danced over his face: happiness, regret … and maybe a little fear. She understood the last look: Aunt Sekaya could match Mom for a tongue-lashing; she suspected he was going to get one.

"Thank you," he finally said. "It will be wonderful to see her."

"Are you feeling better?" she asked politely.

He nodded. "More clear-headed, thank you. And very foolish." He looked at her again, like he was trying to memorize her features. "You _are_ so much like your mother. The images didn't capture half of it," he finally said, and she could hear a bit of wonder.

"I've been told that," she said.

"She told me that you're the scientist she intended to be. How are your doctoral studies going?"

She was surprised by the question. "My dissertation proposal is on hold. I'm about to start a project that touches on my research. The results could shift my thinking in a few areas." He just nodded.

"_Oh, what the hell, might as well ask."_ The question had been as part of her for as long as she could remember. "Why did you leave us?"

He sighed and unconsciously reached up to pull on his right ear. "I originally left Starfleet and joined the Maquis to avenge our people, to avenge your grandfather, who was murdered by Cardassians. When they arose as a threat again, I had to act."

"That include putting a phaser to my mother's head? That was one hell of an introduction."

"Theater," he said simply. "And yes, your mother had a few choice words for me afterward."

He slid off the bed and started to pace. "Elizabeth, I wouldn't have left if I'd known your mother was pregnant. Though to be honest, I don't regret the colony; in some ways, I feel that was my calling. It …and Voyager ... were the two places I ever really fit in."

He noted his daughter's raised eyebrow. "I'm sorry I missed the first part of your life, Elizabeth. Tom Paris is not the person I would have wanted to raise you."

"Really?" she asked, not bothering to hide the sarcasm. "I'm having a hard time understanding this. From what I've seen, and what you just said, I get the impression that you never wanted to come back. Am I wrong about that? Or was this just a convenient means to dump Mom?"

Chakotay didn't answer, and she snorted in disgust.

"As for my dad, we apparently don't know the same man. Dad has always said that he loved me before I was born. I've never felt that I was any less his child than Miral and my brothers are. He'll always be my father."

He still didn't answer, just looked over her head. "Just for the record," she continued, "Mom and Dad never said a bad word about you." She paused. "I have no doubt that Mom loved you, or I wouldn't be standing here. Out of curiosity, did you ever love her?"

"It's complicated," he finally said.

"I would think that should be a simple answer."

He gave her a wry smile. "Nothing is simple with Kathryn. Look, Elizabeth, what your mother is to me ... what we are to each other ... is between us. Understand that you are certainly part of that. But as for the rest, it's not something I can explain ... or that I should explain to anyone but her."

"I see." She was quiet for a moment. "Well, I suppose there's not much left to say, then ..." she said as she turned to leave.

"Elizabeth," he said quietly. "I realize you're very angry with me, and I understand why. I don't have the right to be, but I am proud of you. My wish is that you are happy, both personally and professionally."

He gave her a full-dimple smile, and she got an inkling as to how her mother fell for him.

"Should you ever want to talk," he continued, "I promise that I will listen. I doubt that I will get to share much of your life, but I hope we can get to know each other."

"Thank you," she said almost reflexively. "But I really have to think about that."


	12. This is Not a Social Call

Will glanced around the table as everyone assembled for the morning briefing, most of them clutching coffee cups. "I know we're all aware of recent events, but I'll recap," he began.

"Commander Takai's team was successful in destroying the Berylian crops on the planet," so congratulations to you, sir," he said, nodding at the commander.

"During the mission, the team encountered two men in the Berylian fields, later identified as Maquis Richard Akent and Sheil Berdi. Both were suspects in the abduction of Admiral Janeway and Lt. Paris. They were also suspects in the deaths of the six Maquis and four Culveran settlers.

During the pursuit, the team saw Mr. Berdi fatally shoot Mr. Akent. Mr. Berdi then ran to a Culveran military shuttle that was parked at the field; when he reached it, he was fatally shot by its occupant or occupants. Commander Takai's team tried to capture the shuttle, but unfortunately, it exploded. Sensor logs show no weapons fire in the area, so it was either a malfunction, or self-destruct."

He put down the PADD. "Since then, we have some new developments. The Culverans continue to maintain that the shuttle was stolen from one of their depots. They also have not revealed the number aboard or any identities. As of this morning, the Prime Minister has informed the Federation that the government considers this to be an internal matter. And that while they appreciate our help, our assistance is no longer needed.

"Since the active investigation into the abductions has wrapped up, Titan has been ordered to break orbit and return to McKinley Station. Once there, we'll transfer Captain Chakotay, Mr. Weyman and Mr. Daamin to the appropriate authorities. We plan to break orbit at 0600 tomorrow."

"No indication that anyone else was involved in the abductions?" Tom asked.

"None that we can find," Lena Marel answered. "From what Weyman and Daamin say, Berdi and Akent came up with the idea in an attempt to deflect the Culveran government from their drug business. We have evidence of Captain Chakotay's involvement in the abductions. We haven't been able to question him about the drugs."

"My CMO says he is recovering, so you'll likely get clearance before we reach McKinley," Will said.

Marel nodded. "Unfortunately, anyone else with details on either case is dead. We can speculate all day on who knew what, but at this point, we're handing off to our friends in Intelligence."

Captain Hallis nodded. "It's certainly on our radar. We're gathering information on that shuttle's movements and we'll continue to coordinate with the individual intelligence services in the quadrant."

"Lena, what's the status of the settlements?" Takai asked. "Commander Arav said there was some movement out of the Culveran colony."

"The Maquis settlement will disband," Marel said. "Many have asked to be taken back to their home worlds. Kerriden and Whittaker will take them to Sigma 3 station; the Federation Relief agency will take it from there." She regarded a PADD. "Three of them aren't going voluntarily: seems there are warrants out in a couple of murder cases.

"As for the Culverans, we're aware that some settlers are leaving but that's all we know. Kerriden and Whittaker will continue to monitor for the next day or so, but after that … "

xxx

Will walked into Sick Bay, followed by two Security officers. Dr. Heller noted their arrival and waved them to his office.

"How is the Captain doing?" Will asked. "Specifically, is he awake and able to comprehend what's said to him?"

"Yes to both. He's going to need ongoing treatment; he has residual organ damage from the drugs. But overall, given his age and the lack of basic medical care, he should make a reasonable recovery. He's damn lucky — from a medical point of view."

Will held back a smile. "There are some people who want to question him. Is he up to it?"

Heller nodded. "Short sessions, 15 to 20 minutes. I'd like a nurse nearby."

"We'll arrange it," Will said. "Can he be moved?"

Heller knew what was coming. "Not until tomorrow. Right now, his daughter and son-in-law are with him, along with their little boy."

"Mind calling them out?"

Heller just nodded and walked back to the secure section. Sekaya, her husband and son appeared a few minutes later and walked past them without a word.

Will shook his head. Sekaya reminded him a bit of his own daughter; not that he could see Betsy with a husband and child at this point.

He and the officers walked up to the biobed. Chakotay was sitting quietly. "Admiral Riker," he said simply.

"Captain," he replied. "I believe you realize this is not a social call."

Chakotay offered a small smile. "I'm sure it isn't."

Will nodded and turned on his PADD. "Captain Chakotay, you are under arrest ..."


	13. Tom Has His Say

Tom stood at the cell in Titan's brig, arms crossed, waiting quietly.

"Come to gloat, Paris?" Chakotay finally asked.

"Not really," Tom replied. "More curiosity than anything."

Chakotay just snorted. "Well, I'm curious as to why you and Kathryn took my daughter from me. And why you turned her against me."

Tom raised an eyebrow as he recalled what he'd been told about Chakotay's medical condition.

"You took my wife," he finally said, "and Miral's right to grow up knowing her biological mother."

"She came of her own free will."

"Yes, she did, but from what I hear, things got out of hand. I don't know what went on between you two, but from what I understand, you were determined to keep her on that rock."

Chakotay just turned his back. Tom shrugged. "You abandoned Liz. Inadvertently, but still abandonment. So I stepped up. Legally and emotionally, Liz is _my_ daughter, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

"As for turning her, _you_ were holding her mom and brother hostage, for God's sake. And the first time she sees you, you're threatening to kill them. If you think she's suddenly going to embrace you, then you're obviously hallucinating. She's a long way from forgiving you … for more things than we realized."

He almost held his tongue, but decided to say it. "On the other hand, old man, I don't think this is about Liz. I think you're really angry that Kate didn't fall apart after you left. That she took _me_ to her bed. And that she carried _my_ sons, not yours."

Chakotay spun around, eyes blazing.

"Thought so," Tom said. "Did you think she was going to wait another seven, or 27, or 37 years for you, especially after all the sacrifices she made out there? If you were trying to punish her, it backfired. Then again, you've always been prone to self-sabotage.

"Not that it matters now. Kate came to me. We're about to celebrate 28 years of marriage. So thank you; you gave me a wonderful gift."

"Get out of here, you bastard!" Chakotay growled.

"Sure," Tom replied, "I suspect you'll have plenty of time to think about things. Meanwhile, I'm going to enjoy life with my wife and children. And by the way, your grandson's a nice kid. He really enjoys having aunts and uncles to dote on him."

As he walked out of the brig, Tom heard a "zap" ... the sound of someone hitting a force field.

xxx

A day or so later, he stood outside of B'Elanna's quarters. Funny, he thought he'd be more nervous.

He rang the chime and the door slid open. She looked a bit surprised; perhaps she thought he wasn't going to talk to her.

He stepped in, hands in pockets. "Hi."

"Hi," she replied softly. She looked so tired. So different from the memories he had of her. Then again, his hair was going white and he'd picked up his own lines and wrinkles.

"I wasn't ignoring you," he said. "I wanted to spend some time with Kate and Chase. And there was that matter of explaining why I went on a rescue mission without authorization."

She looked amused. "Get in trouble, did you?"

He grinned. "Verbal reprimand. Will kindly told them that my help was invaluable." He looked down, then back up at her. "I've thanked Marcus, but thank you for getting Kate and Chase out of there."

"It's all …." the tears came and she couldn't finish. She started to sob, and Tom crossed the room and took her in his arms. They held each other, both crying for all the years, all the pain.

"Tom, I am so sorry," she whispered when she could finally speak. "I didn't mean for things to happen this way. It all fell apart." She looked up at him. "I don't blame you for being angry with me."

"I was for a long time," he admitted as he wiped his own tears. "And I'm still angry with Chakotay, though that's more for Kate and the girls." He swallowed. "Leaving me was one thing, but I could never understand why you left Miral, considering that you were so angry with John for leaving you."

He shook his head. "I'm told that before you were stranded you had a year … a _year_ to call, to at least ask about our baby. But you didn't. For God's sake, B'El, why?"

She looked down, unable to speak for a moment. "We spent most of that year on the run … we didn't always have communications. Sometimes it was just too dangerous. But you're right. I had opportunity … and the longer I was gone, the easier it was to talk myself out of making that call … talk myself out of facing both of you." She shook her head. "I now have a very different understanding of my father."

He sat quietly for a moment. Was she being honest? He couldn't tell anymore. In one sense, it no longer mattered. It was Miral's question to ask now, and he had no doubt that she _would_ ask. Kate remarked that Miral's questioning could rival Internal Affairs. B'Elanna would learn just how tenacious her firstborn could be when she wanted something.

"I suppose, in one sense you did me a favor," he finally said. "I had decided early on that we were

done. Your disappearance made it easy for me to get a quick divorce and to terminate your rights to Miral so Kate could adopt her."

B'Elanna swallowed hard at his last remark, he noted. "Over the years, I got some perspective, and a _lot_ of counseling," he continued. "Now, I'm just sad you didn't get to see Miral grow up."

"She's wonderful," B'Elanna said. "You … you and the admiral did a great job with her. I thought about you two a lot, especially on Miral's birthday."

He nodded. He wouldn't tell her that eventually, he'd stopped thinking about her; she was just a fleeting regret as they celebrated one of Miral's milestones.

"I like Marcus and Sekaya; they're both pretty sharp," he said to change the subject. "And I think my kids will have Regan thoroughly spoiled by the time we dock."

He paused. "One of my former students runs a commercial shuttle repair business. There's a market for repairing older shuttles, but he can't find people to work on then. So he's very interested in talking with Marcus and Sekaya. I've given them his contact info."

"That would be great," she said. "We all have a lot of adjustments ahead of us."

"Are you going back on active duty?"

"Not sure; I'm talking to some folks at the Corps. I've got a lot of catching up to do," she said with a wave toward the console.

She paused. "Look, Tom, you should know that I wasn't having an affair with Chakotay. That's not why I left. Sekaya was born ..."

Tom quickly put up his hand. "Thank you for telling me that. As for Sekaya, I don't need to know. By the time she was born, we were divorced."

He hesitated, but this needed to be said. "You know, I am glad you're alive, but this doesn't change how I feel about Kate, and the life I have with her."

She nodded. "I figured that you'd move on. I … don't intend to intrude on your life. For what it's worth, I'm glad you ended up with the Admiral. You two always did adore each other."

"_What should I tell you?" he thought. "That Kate and I pulled each other out of an abyss of grief and self-doubt and fell in love in the process. That even in the chaos of raising five kids I found … still find ... peace with her … something I never had with you. That after 28 years, we still make each other laugh … _

"You know, there's a lot more to her than that rank bar," he said quietly.

"Oh, thanks for giving Harry and Mike my vid code," she said quickly. "I heard from both of them." She chuckled. "Captain Kim … who would have believed it?"

"A good captain, and always a good friend," Tom agreed. Harry had diverted his ship to get Jake from the Davison; they'd talked every night as the situation played out. "You'll probably hear from some other folks, too. A few of us have stayed in touch over the years."

He glanced at the chronometer. "I should get going," he said. "Look, if you need anything, just ask."

She nodded. "Thank you," she began, then hesitated for a moment. "If it's all right with you, Miral invited me to Indiana, to work on the shuttle she's restoring."

Tom laughed. "Sure … she's been working on that thing for four years. My mother-in-law is threatening to burn down the barn to get rid of it."

He stopped at the door. "Miral seems willing to have you in her life. For her sake, maybe we could find our way back to being friends?"

"I'd like that for all our sake," she said sincerely. "I'd like to try."


	14. Heading Home

_AN: If you've stuck with me this long, many thanks. I hope you've enjoyed the ride._

xxx

Kathryn frowned in annoyance as the vid beeped. No chance of Tom picking it, up; he was in the shower.

She unwound herself from the couch and answered. It was Sekaya, Chakotay's sister.

"Good morning, we're heading out, and I just wanted to say goodbye. And thank you again for having me to the party."

"Well, we're delighted you could join us," Kathryn said warmly. "And thank you again for helping B'Elanna and her kids to get settled."

She could see the twinkle in Sekaya's eyes. "Well, I do have a few strings I can pull, and it is family, after all." She paused. "Kaya and I were allowed to see Chakotay before he was transferred. I know the answer, but I agreed to deliver the message: He wants to talk with you and with Liz."

Kathryn shook her head. "I've been ordered not to have contact. I may have to testify against him. And frankly, I don't want to give Internal Affairs any ideas, considering that they've finally decided this wasn't part of a plot."

She took a sip of coffee. "As for Liz, she and Jon left earlier this morning. They want some time together before she heads to the Gamma Quadrant."

Sekaya just nodded. "Think she'll ever talk to Chakotay again?"

Kathryn shrugged. "Right now, your guess is as good as mine." And that applied to her feelings, too.

xxx

"Thank you again for having us at your anniversary party," Deanna said over lunch.

"We were happy to have you," Kathryn said. "I'm amazed we could pull it together. We rarely get all our kids in one place these days, so we wanted to take advantage of it." Actually, she was amazed that the station was able to provide a private room on such short notice.

"So has everyone flown off?"

"Poof!" Tom said, raising his hands. The girls and their boyfriends are on romantic getaways; Chase and Ben left for some concert in Berlin, along with a few of Ben's newfound Ranger friends; and Jake is on his way back to the Davison."

"Would those newfound Ranger friends include the two young women I saw Chase and Ben leaving the party with?" Dianna teased.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Kathryn chuckled. "But I know better than to ask," she added as Dianna nodded in solidarity.

They were interrupted by Will's arrival. "I was just talking to Admiral Hayes," he said as everyone else made a face. "Culvera has formally withdrawn its application for Federation admission. They continue to maintain that the military shuttle was stolen, and that any Berylian trade is conducted by rogue elements that they will deal with."

"No admissions celebration then? What a shame," Kathryn said sweetly as the rest of the table chuckled.

xxx

"I just wanted to remind you," Deanna said quietly as Will and Tom talked, "that if you and Tom or the kids need anything, please call. This is a complex situation, and it's going to take some time to process."

"Thank you, I appreciate that," she said as she patted Dianna's arm. "I suspect we'll be sorting this one for the rest of our lives."

xxx

"By the way," Tom said as he set the Flyer's course for Earth. "You talk to Jake last night?"

"A bit," she said. "Something up?"

"He told me he's asked for reassignment when Davison comes in for its refit."

"Oh? He seemed set on that Beta mission. Not that I want him gone for three years."

"He's put in for one of the new Atlantic Class ships. Thinks he has a shot at chief pilot. He asked Will for a recommendation."

"Hmm. Well, being chief pilot on 'Fleet's newest ship certainly will enhance a career," she said, giving Tom a nudge. "But those ships are designed for short-term missions."

Tom nodded. "He said something about being closer to home … or coming home more often. I couldn't quite hear him over the noise."

Kathryn raised an eyebrow. "He hasn't been the same since that mission. I don't know if it's a reaction to everything that's happened, or if seeing Ben in a different light has rattled his perceptions."

"I think _all_ our perceptions have been rattled," Tom deadpanned.

"More than you think, my dear. Speaking of Ben ..." Tom just raised an eyebrow.

"He's not re-enlisting."

Tom let out a whistle. "I imagine that make you very happy."

"Me _and_ Mom. But he's not buying into the shuttleport, either."

"So ….?"

Kathryn chuckled. "He's given up on you, honey. He may go back to a design firm where he interned. Wants to pick up more experience, then set out on his own."

"Ah," Tom said, then fell quiet. "Well, that might be for the best," he finally allowed. "I've had second and third thoughts about jumping into a startup. I've been run ragged overseeing this department. A company? I don't know."

"I've wondered if you'd ever get around to realizing that," she said softly.

He just laughed. "This could work out. Ben gets established, then lets his old man consult, or run an occasional project with him."

Kathryn shook her head. "I certainly didn't expect a diplomatic mission to open such a Pandora's box. We're being upended from every side."

"It's not that bad," he soothed. "What happened probably sparked some re-evaluation. But everyone's path takes some twists and turns. Even yours. Fortunately, they're not taking my path."

"You've done just fine," she admonished.

"Eventually," he conceded. "So, my dear, let's change the subject. Where do you want to go from Spacedock? Stay in San Francisco? I hear there's a new Italian place. Book the weekend at our favorite resort? Go home?"

She frowned at the mention of San Francisco. "I'll be there the next couple of weeks with reports, briefings and more briefings. At least I shouldn't have to write a report on Culveran technology."

"Oh, I bet you will," Tom teased.

"You know, I'd just like to go home."

"You know your mom's still in the Carolinas?"

"So much the better," she said with a wicked grin. "I'd just like to sit on the porch this evening and share a nice bottle of wine and some lasagna from Georgio's. Then, since we haven't finished celebrating our anniversary, I suspect we could find something _interesting_ to do ..."

Tom gave her a wicked grin. "You know, we could do something _interesting_ on the porch."

"I bet we could. Though I can't guarantee there won't be photographers skulking around. I'm sure they'd love photos of _that_. Though at our age …" She burst out laughing. "That _might_ be a good way to get rid of them."

"Me, maybe; _you're_ still a knockout," Tom replied. He looked over at her. "You all right?"

"I will be eventually," she said. "I told Miral that I don't know what things will look like in the end, but we'd all be OK. I think that's still true."

He nodded. "I think so, too. We're still a family. And we still have each other."

She reached over and squeezed his arm. "For _that_ I will always be grateful, my dear."

Tom just winked at her, and they settled into a companionable silence as the Flyer took them home.


End file.
